Manifesto
by KibaElunal
Summary: Authors write fanfiction for many reasons. Some write it for entertainment, others to hone their skills, some even write it to become popular. This, however, is not one of those stories. This is a story of an author who is pulled to Runeterra. This is my story, my manifesto, and it's for one major purpose. It's not a cry for help, it's a desperate wish to be alive anywhere else.
1. Chapter 1

Manifesto Ch. 1

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, welcome to my new series Manifesto. For those of you who've been readers since my early days, you may recall a one-shot I posted a long time ago called The Magic Portal. Essentially, this story is made to get out all the thoughts and feelings I have swarming around in my head. If you like it, leave a review. -Kiba**

I don't remember much from my time in the darkness. At one moment, I was alone in my bed, sleeping peacefully after having just completed another chapter of my fanfiction. To be honest, I've always had a fear of the dark.

When I was a child, my imagination would cause me to see twisting grotesque figures in the ether around me, and despite my parents' attempts to comfort me, they felt as real to me as the air I breathed.

Tonight though, I felt no such fear. The darkness I tread upon was not like the one I felt in my childhood, but rather it was a comforting sensation. It called to me, a soft chiming that informed me that the place I was fated to travel to would be one that I'd known only in my dreams.

The first thing I noticed was the warmth that beat down over my face and body. Considering the warmth of my hometown, it wasn't surprising. But even still, my conscious knew something was amiss, even to the point when a soft voice echoed in my ears. "You have chosen a poor place to slumber, human." It informed me. It was a familiar voice, one I could remember, but not place.

As my eyes first opened, they were greeted by a canopy above me. Trees that had grown tall, much like the pines in my home, save that these were far more tropical. I was outside? But, how? "Where am I?" I groaned to the voice, trying to sit up, but finding my body would not respond to my commands.

A beautiful masked figure appeared over my vision, examining me carefully through her glowing blue eyes. Behind her, a dark bestial shadow loomed, his fanged visage far more frightening. "You are in a land that is not your own." She explained cryptically.

"I know you, I think." I replied, still struggling to move.

"That is not possible." The dark creature snarled.

The white one's hand gently rested upon the head of the monster, calming it. "On the contrary, dear Wolf, I believe he does. Do you not feel it? This one is different than others."

"Wolf?" I asked. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to remember. I knew that this was important, but I still struggled to recall the memories. "You're the new champion. Well one of them, anyway."

"We are _hardly_ new." The one named Wolf growled. "Come Lamb, let us ask our question."

"Indeed." She replied. "It is time for you to make a choice, human."

"Choice?" I didn't understand, until the memories seemed to dawn on me again. "Kindred." I muttered. "Yes...that's your name, isn't it? Together, you are Kindred."

"So the human knows of what he speaks." The Wolf cackled.

"Which means...I'm…"

"Dying." Lamb finished. "In a sense. Our question dearest human: you must make your choice. Would you prefer the swift bow, or the fierce hunt?

"You want me to choose whether I wish to die quickly or attempt to flee my fate?"

The brilliant spirit nodded her head politely, the dark shadowy figure slowly circling the both of us curiously. He sniffed at me, his wooden mask coming just inches from my face. "I think I may finally have a chase." He grinned. "Good, it has been far too long."

"Do not taunt him, dearest Wolf." Lamb chastised. "We are not meant to be partial. All must make the choice and all must know the consequences of doing so."

"This isn't right." I protested. "You're not real. You're just some characters made up in a video game. Why is this happening to me? It must be a dream, right? Some sort of nightmare?" But despite my words, I knew that this was not the case. I'd spent a majority of my life in my dreams. So much so that I could tell when I was awake and when I was not. This was one of the times I was not. But even still…

"Your choice." Lamb urged.

"I don't want to die." I whispered, shutting my eyes tightly as tears began to roll down my cheeks. "It can't be my time yet. Please, there must be some mistake."

The two spirits exchanged glances with one another. "He has made his choice." Snarled the wolf, preparing to pounce upon me, but Lamb simply held up her hand.

"He has not, dearest Wolf. You must learn patience. We know, most of all, that the decision is not one to be made lightly." Her voice was compassionate and soothing, but despite that I could feel a sensation of piqued interest. "We will wait, human. Take all of the time that you need. While you think, may I ask you a question?"

"Lamb, this is against the rules." Her partner began, but she quickly shushed him, awaiting my response.

"I suppose," I replied, "it's only fair."

"Why do you feel it is not your time? What is it about your life that makes it so important that you feel the need to delay the inevitable?" Lamb's calm voice was filled with curiosity as she leaned closer to me, her hand resting beside my head. "It is not uncommon for humans to be unprepared for their end, and yet…" Her words trailed off, leaving it hanging in the air between us.

I thought about it for a long time, my eyes closing once more. "There is so much to be finished." I finally answered. "There is so much that I can still give to the world, and yet...I've given nothing." My tears began to stream faster down my cheeks. "All I've ever been is an inconvenience to my world. It can't be my time yet, because I haven't been able to prove that there is a reason I'm alive."

She moved slightly from me, pulling Wolf to speak with her. "Wolf, I believe there has been a mistake."

His eyes widened as he snarled at her. "Lamb, you can not be suggesting what I think you are suggesting. We are not summoned when it is not their time. Our presence signals that it is his end, whether he agrees it or not. You know the words. They always know that we are coming…"

"Yet they are never prepared. Yes, I know." She replied calmly. "Even still, I believe something has changed. There is something amiss in this place, do you not feel it?" As if to accent her statement, a gentle breeze flowed through the wind, rustling her long white fur. On the breeze, the sound of a gentle bell could be heard. "Please dearest Wolf, I request that you lend me your trust."

"How do we know that he will not flee?" The Wolf demanded.

"If he does, will it matter?" She countered.

Her partner seemed to ponder it for a moment before inching closer to stare me in the eyes. His deep blue pools seemed eternal as he bared his fangs at me and in a harsh tone whispered. "Remember this, human. This is merely a stay of execution. In the end, you will have to make the choice, and when that day comes if you continue to argue your purpose, I will see it as an attempt to flee your fate. We are never far, human and I never lose sight of my prey."

As he backed away, Lamb once more appeared above me. Behind her mask, I could feel her gentle smile as she reached forward to wipe away a tear. "You must forgive my friend, dear human. He often thrills for the chase, it is not personal."

"Perhaps it should be." I muttered, causing her to tilt her head in bewilderment. "'What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the reaper man?' One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books."

"An interesting analogy." She mused before straightening once more. "Give us your name, dear human. There is power in a name. Perhaps, with yours, it will grant you the power to find the end you truly desire."

"Kiba...Kiba Elunal." I muttered, but she shook her head.

"Your true name."

I took a deep breath, a shudder running through my body. "Joshua Roberts." I finally whispered, and with the last syllable, a soft wind swept around me, and in the blink of an eye, I was alone once more.

My fingers twitched slightly, my ability to move them finally beginning to return as I sat up. Kindred was nowhere to be seen as I looked about myself. I'd been brought to Runeterra for a purpose, but what it was, I was not sure. Was this a dream come true, or a nightmare? Even that I could not know.

Getting to my feet, I dusted myself off. The dirt covered ground beneath me looked as if it hadn't been disturbed at all. Rather that I simply was there, and yet...I was not. Beneath where I had lay, no indentation could be found, yet beneath where I stood, my footprints remained. Firstly, I needed to know where I was, before I could determine where I was going.

As I turned to examine my surroundings, I knew that I was in some sort of jungle. Kumungu? Possibly. Voodoo Lands, Summoner's Rift, even somewhere in the heart of Ionia was possible. I tapped my forehead in thought. The truth was, I could be anywhere in Valoran. Save Shurima or the Shadow Isles, I reminded myself with relief.

It was then that I once more heard the bell from my dreams. It called to me, beckoned me further through the underbrush. It guided me here to Runeterra, perhaps it would also be the thing that led me back out. Swallowing nervously, I carefully made my way towards the sound.

In its own way, the jungle was beautiful. The trees that spanned around me caused dancing rays of light to rain down upon the earth like thin golden spears sent down from heaven. Every step taken had the most satisfying crunch of leaves and twigs, sending another whiff of the earthly scent into the air around me.

I always liked to think that my body was well acclimated for the jungle. Texas was always hot and humid, much like a tropical forest would be. In a way, this land was a comforting one. I could still feel Kindred on my trail, so the loneliness that usually crippled me so greatly wasn't one I experienced here. Then again, I suppose that was always my problem. I wished to surround myself with others, but at other times I wished the world would just leave me alone. This, I decided, was a good compromise.

Another cool gust of wind slid through the trees, causing my dark brown hair to waver slightly. It felt as if every time I would take a step, the sound of the bell never truly came closer. It wasn't a place, it was a compass, leading me through the jungle to who-knows-where. Its comforting chime was the only thing that kept the fear of being in a strange land from encroaching.

Soon however, the bell's effect began to wane and the realization of what had happened sank on me like bricks. I was trapped in a fictional world, where danger was all around me, and already I'd almost perished. For the first time that day, I stopped moving and fell to my hands and knees. I'd never see my friends again. My family, of course, would probably never miss me. "Hello?" A voice called, shaking me from my thoughts. I quickly scrambled to the nearest brush of grass, rolling into it and pressing myself prone against the ground. "Is someone there?" The voice came again, and through the tree line I could see the shape of a tall woman, followed by a few large cats. Nidalee?

But which Nidalee was it? Was it the kind Nidalee that I wrote within A Boy and His Fox or was it the cruel spirited one from When Heaven's Clash? Immediately, I chastised myself for such an arrogant thought. Did I truly think myself so great that the Runeterra I was in was one that I created?

She suddenly stopped, crouching low to the ground and sniffing the air. Almost immediately, I could see the reflective gleam of her emerald eyes through the trees and I knew she'd caught on to my scent. The real Nidalee, I recalled, was not a fan of trespassers. As if to punctuate the sentiment, her spear raced towards me, the blade barely grazing my back before planting into the tree behind me. I let out a silent hiss, just as she leapt on me, pinning me to the ground and raising her spear high. But then, she ceased. "Kiba?" She whispered in awe.

She recognized me? "Hi, Nidalee."

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Piltover." She mumbled, slowly lowering her spear. The moment the words left her lips, I realized that it was not that she'd recognized me. It began to fall into place. Kiba was my self-insert, so of course he'd look exactly like me.

"I'm...not Kiba." I tried to explain, causing her to turn a bright red and clamber off of me. She seemed very flustered as she offered me her hand to help me up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You just...looked like someone I know, that's all. I apologize for frightening you. There are many dangers here." Her voice was shy and timid, an odd combination for such a ferocious woman. Sniffing once more, she frowned. "It seems I managed to cut your back. Turn around." Obliging, she held up her hands, using her magic to send a searing pain down my spine. I could feel my cut healing up, and as the burning sensation subsided, she turned me back around to examine me closer. "It's astounding." She commented, circling me suspiciously. "You look just like him." She leaned closer to my face, causing me to avert my eyes from hers. "You smell like him too."

"I wish I could say I was like him," I replied, "but I'm afraid I am not Kiba. I'm sorry for being here in your jungle, I'm simply following…" my voice stopped. The bell was no longer present on the breeze.

"Following?" She asked. "Nothing has come through this way in a while. If it had, I'd have found it. Right now, my brothers and sisters are on the hunt. You are lucky that I was with them. I fear you're not as skilled at hiding as you'd hoped you were."

"I see. It's not important. So I suppose that means that we're standing in the heart of Kumungu Jungle, right?" As my eyes drifted around the scenery, it all made some sort of surreal sense. If I were to end up somewhere in Runeterra that was similar to my home, this would be the place.

She nodded. "That's right. Did you get lost? I can help you out of the jungle if you like."

"Why would you do that?" I wondered. "You don't know anything about me. What if I was some sort of criminal? For all you know, I'm here to burn this jungle to the ground."

She leaned against her spear with a grin, her brilliant eyes shimmering. "I don't think you are. You don't smell like the sort to want to hurt people. As for helping you, well...like I said, you look like someone I know."

"Kiba Elunal. I know. You two had a fleeting romance, isn't that right?"

"How did you know that?" She whispered, her eyes growing wider. "No one knows about that. No one but Nasus, Kiba, Morgana, and I." How could I even begin to explain to her that I was the one who was responsible for it? She waited expectantly for my response, but I wasn't able to give it to her.

"I can't say." I finally answered.

"Why not?"

"Because it's my fault he hurt you." I spoke softly. "All of it was my fault."

For a long while, she remained silent. Was she going to yell at me now? Maybe she wouldn't believe me and just take me out of the jungle anyway. I almost wished she would think I was lying to her, but instead she just shook her head. "He didn't hurt me. I hurt myself. It was foolish of me to fall in love with someone I couldn't be with, and I don't blame anyone for that but myself. At first, I wanted to blame Nasus, but then Morgana she…" Her cheeks became flushed as the memories came back to her.

"Oh...right." I murmured to myself, my own cheeks turning bright red. I almost hoped that I never bumped into any other champion I'd written about. As interesting as it would be to meet Ahri, I didn't want to think about how awkward it would be knowing her sex life in detail. "Sorry to bring it up. I would love it if you escorted me out of the jungle."

She beamed at me, a kind smile. "Alright, where to?"

I realized at that moment, that I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted to go. I knew someone in every city and territory on the entire continent. The closest (and safest) place I knew was Bandle City. "Bandle City." I replied. "It's relatively safe and there's a train that can take me to the different territories right?"

"That's correct. How was it you got here if not from Bandle City? I know you didn't cross the Voodoo Lands to get here. You don't strike me as the Mount Targon type, either."

"I'm not really sure." I admitted. "I'm not from Valoran. I know a lot about it, but my information is a little...skewed. I don't imagine you would be willing to loan me a few valors for train fare, would you?"

She pondered it for a moment before a light seemed to turn on in her head. "I tell you what." She purred, circling me once more. "Stay with my family and I for the night. The sun's already beginning to set anyway, and Bandle City is on the other side of the Jungle. Then I'll take you to meet my friend, deal?"

"No!" I quickly protested before clearing my throat. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I just...I don't want to meet him if it's all the same. I'll gladly stay with your family though, assuming you don't intend to eat me."

"Of course not, you're our guest." She giggled, taking my hand in hers. As she began to pull me away, I could feel a surprising tingle coming from her palm. I didn't mind being touched, but it was still awkward coming from someone I'd never met before. "My offer still stands, by the way. I want to go pay him a visit, so I'll ride with you to Piltover. From there, you should be able to find some sort of work to take you wherever you like. You don't have to meet him if you don't want to, but he is a kind person. I promise, you'd like him."

"I'm sure I would. That's really the concern I have." There was an awkward silence as she tried to disentangle my confusing response, before I cleared my throat. "Sorry, I know I'm strange."

"I live in the Jungle, can turn into a giant cat, and apparently know how to pole dance. Believe me, you're in good company." She teased with a grin. "It's funny, really. You're very easy to talk to. I wonder if it's because you look like Kiba, or perhaps you're just like that."

"I just like to listen." I admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of my head. "People say it helps to talk about things, and I like to help people."

"A noble ambition." She mused.

That night, as I rested on the ground, I could feel her body snuggle up against mine. Her face was just beneath my chin, so close that I could feel her warm breath as she slept. I couldn't even begin to go to sleep as I considered just how trusting she was of someone she'd never met. How easy it would be to use that trust for my own purposes. I shook the thought from my head. I didn't want to be like that. I was ashamed to even consider such a thing. I carefully pulled away from her, separating us by a foot or so and turning over so I couldn't look at the scantily clad woman.

Once my eyes closed, rest took me easily and so ended my first day on Runeterra...or so I thought. In the middle of the night, I woke up to find myself dangling upside down. There was a searing pain in my ankle, and looking up...or down...or something, I found that a thorny vine had wrapped and embedded itself into my leg. "Oh God," I muttered, "Oh God, please no." I began to struggle desperately, reaching up for the vine to tear it from my ankle, but unfortunately my less-than-athletic lifestyle made it impossible.

"What's wrong prey?" A voice echoed all around me. "You seem...uncomfortable."

I sighed, deciding to save my strength. "Show yourself Zyra. I know who you are."

From the ground beneath me, a series of vines and leaves began to swirl about before vanishing leaving the voluptuous figure of the plant woman. "So you know of me?" She mused, a cruel smirk crossing her lips. "It is not often that one knows who I am and yet chooses to wander into _my_ jungle."

"Actually, I was planning on just leaving." I growled. "Where's Nidalee?"

"You've no need to worry about the cat." She answered. "She is sleeping peacefully back in her camp. Has anyone ever told you that you sleep walk? It's a very interesting thing to observe. And the things you say…" She wrapped her arms around herself as a shudder ran through her body. "It brings a whole new meaning to 'talk dirty to me'."

I turned a bright red, though it could have been from the blood rushing to my head as much as anything else. "Please, just let me go." I pleaded. "I didn't mean to trespass. I told Nidalee that too. I just want to go home."

Her hand extended outward towards me. I flinched away, but instead of striking me as I feared, she just cupped and caressed my cheek. "Leave? Why would you possibly wish to leave? I know the ways of man, just as I know the pleasures they seek."

I slapped her hand away from me and shook my head. "I don't care what 'pleasures' you have to offer. Just let me g-" My words literally became trapped in my throat as another vine quickly lashed upward, tightening around my neck. I desperately tried to pull it away, as Zyra approached with a sway in her hips.

"That," she lectured, "was very rude of you. The way I see it, you've only two options. Surrender yourself to me and accept my pleasure, or struggle and I'll forcefully take what I want from you."

I gasped for air in desperation as the vine slowly began to unwind from my neck leaving me breathing heavily. "Why do you care?" I whimpered. "If you were just hungry, you could have consumed me by now. Are you really so malicious that you want to torture me?"

"Shhh," she cooed, placing a finger to my lips, "it's not about hunger, it's about affection. I've found there's another way for me to get my nutrition without having to worry about wasting such fine specimens. And I can tell you've got quite a bit of it."

"What are you talking about?"

She licked her lips, leaning closer to me and pressing her lips against mine. I tried to pull away, but being suspended upside down I had nothing to press against. There was a sharp pain as I felt her prick my lip, her strangely sweet tongue lapping at the blood that poured out. My head began to swim with the lustful thoughts that she'd planted in my mind, and I began to shiver trying to resist my body's natural urges.

When she finally pulled away, she simply smiled at me. "See prey? Was that so bad? That was only a sample of the pleasure I offer, just a mere taste when you can have a whole feast." As she spoke, her hands ran over her curves, trying to tempt me further.

"I don't want to." I whimpered. I could feel the salty tears coming again and falling to the ground below me. I was crying again, and I hated myself for it. I wished often that I could be anyone else. Half of the time, I wished I was a better person that didn't have these awful corrupted and lustful urges. Other times I wished I was worse and would just surrender myself to my hedonistic impulses. "I don't want pleasure, I want love!" I finally shouted, taking her by surprise. "I don't care what my body tells me, I don't care! I just want someone to make me happy, and to make someone else happy! I swore an oath when I was younger that I wouldn't surrender to lust, and even though it's been hard I can't go back on that oath."

"Why is that, I wonder." She whispered between more intoxicating kisses and strokes. "What good is an oath if you suffer so greatly because of it? Who would it hurt if you were to surrender yourself to your desires?"

"Because it's the only good thing I've ever done in my life." I slurred, my vision becoming blurry. I wasn't sure if it was because of how long I'd remained suspended or if it was the toxin that spread to my body with every kiss, but either way I knew it wouldn't be long until she got what she wanted.

I could sense the impatience in her eyes as a long thorny tendril spread from her wrist, sharpening to a proboscis-like needle. "Very well, we'll do it your way. Don't complain when you die that I didn't offer a better option."

I tried to hold her hand away from me, the needle causing my heart rate to accelerate greatly, but I was feeling so weak that I could only slow her a little. Just as she was about to insert it into my throat, there was a hissing sound and the vine above me released causing me to drop to the ground.

A loud snarl rumbled from the brush as Nidalee leapt towards her, snagging Zyra's wrist and snapping her to the ground. "Foul beast." Zyra growled, preparing to drain Nidalee of her blood as well. Before she could though, I ran to Nidalee's aid and stomped my foot down on her free wrist, keeping it pinned to the earth as she let out a cry of pain.

The tears wouldn't stop flowing now. I never wanted to hurt anyone, and here I was yet again hurting another. It was self-defense, she would have killed your friend, she tried to use you...all were excuses that ran through my mind. However, the other thoughts mirrored them. She was just hungry. She didn't understand. She tried to be peaceful. How could I possibly argue against that?

"Please Zyra. Stop." I pleaded, causing both her and Nidalee to look at me in shock. "I'll give you some of my blood, just...don't hurt her."

Zyra shoved the cat off of her, as she returned to her human form. "Kiba, what are you-"

"I am not Kiba!" I snapped at Nidalee, causing her to flinch. "Don't you get it? I made Kiba. He's not me, he's everything I wished I was. You like me because I look similar to him, but the two of us couldn't be more different." Turning to Zyra, I nodded holding out my arm. "Just promise you'll be gentle when you take it. If it means you'll live and leave her alone, you can have it."

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Manifesto Ch. 2

 **Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your positive reviews on the first chapter. I would like to say that everything I discuss in this story is unembellished and true. The feelings that I display are things that follow me through my life, and so whenever I narrate a part of my past, I'd ask that you be considerate if commenting on it. As always, I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts and feelings on the story, so enjoy. -Kiba**

Lamb watched in contemplative silence as the human held his arm out to the plant woman. "What a foolish creature." Wolf snarled. "We gave him a gift and he squanders it not even a day later."

"Do not be so hasty to judge, Wolf." She replied softly, slowly creeping closer to him. Time had all but stopped, such was the life of Lamb. For her every second was both an instant and an eternity. As she pressed her black mask closer to view the human's eyes, she took a sharp breath. "It is so beautiful." She muttered.

Wolf lazily rolled over in the air. "Yes, yes. Words, words, words. Beauty this, graceful that."

"I mean it, Wolf." She huffed. "In his eyes, I don't sense fear of death. I sense concern for the feline." A soft smile crept upon her lips beneath the carved visage. "He saw us, and yet is unafraid."

"Lamb, are you well?" Wolf finally asked. "You are behaving...oddly."

She paused, taking a step back from the human to regard her partner. "Do not be silly Wolf. We can not act oddly. It is not in our nature." The shadowy spectre scratched himself behind the ears with a phantom limb in thought.

"And yet...you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"I am not." Lamb finally asserted, stomping her foot on the ground. "How can you not stand to be curious Wolf? A human who has never been born and does not fear death. How can you explain this, hmmm?"

"Stupidity." He muttered, swirling around Lamb. "It seems we will get to ask the question sooner than anticipated with this one."

The white furred girl paused. "Perhaps." She agreed, though her tone conveyed an air of reluctance. "But then again…"

"No." Wolf interrupted. "Absolutely not."

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You will not grant him respite once more. You have already done so once, which I must remind you is against the rules."

She knew that Wolf was right, but even still she responded bitterly. "There is only one rule Wolf: everyone must face us eventually." Her eyes resonated with her partners as the two glared at one another. They often had disagreements about their role in the universe. It was to be expected of course. They were identical, and yet, at the same time complete opposites. "I may grant him respite as often as I wish, so long as he eventually makes his choice."

"How many times will he die before you finally force him to choose?" Wolf demanded. "I do not like the thought of this whelp being granted your respite, but if you choose to give it to him that is your decision. I will, however, demand that you give me a limit. We must not allow him to alter fate too greatly."

Lamb shook her head. "Have faith in me, Wolf. Have I yet to fail in my duties?"

"There is a first time for everything." He snarled. Walking to his side, she gently stroked the Wolf's large head, causing him to nuzzle back against her. "This is not an opinion Lamb. I am merely concerned about your behavior."

"You have no need for concern, Wolf. I shan't grant him respite again...after this next time."

"I hope that you remember this oath, Lamb. Remember it well, for I will not forget." He replied, turning away from the group while she continued to sit perched on a stone, watching in eager anticipation.

* * *

"I don't understand." Nidalee muttered. "You said you 'made' Kiba. What do you mean?"

I fell silent once more. "None of this is real." I finally explained. "This world, your world, it's all fake. It's just a silly game that was made by a team of designers."

"I think you may be feverish." She argued, turning on Zyra and thrusting her spear in her face. "Release him from your spell you monster, or else I will not hesitate to slay you."

I quickly placed my hand on the tip of her spear lowering it. "I'm serious, Nidalee. This isn't real. It's just some weird demented fantasy in my head. I'm sorry." Turning on me, she swung hard enough to knock me to the ground. "What the hell Nid?!"

She pointed her weapon towards where I lay on the ground. "Did that hurt?"

"Of course it hurt!"

"Then that should be proof enough that this is real!" She shouted. "This is not a game! You are not some sort of God that can just create things on a whim. I believe that you're not Kiba, because Kiba would never be so inconsiderate to tell someone they didn't exist."

Zyra smirked, watching the interaction with an amused interest. "For someone who moments ago thought he was sick, you sure are being harsh on him now." She pointed out. It took a lot of will to not jump on the opportunity to hide behind her protection.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "It wasn't meant to be an insult. It's just...maybe this is real, but in my reality, there is no such place as Runeterra."

"Well in our reality there is no such thing as you." Nidalee shot back, causing me to take a sharp breath. "It doesn't feel good, does it? Being told that you don't matter, that you don't exist."

"That's not what I meant."

"Well then what did you mean?" She snapped.

My eyes fell to my feet. Despite being over a foot taller than her, the way she lectured me made me feel small like a child. This was my social anxiety bubbling up to the surface once again. "I don't know." I finally admitted. "But I wouldn't lay my life down for you if I didn't think it was important. Because even if I don't know if this is real or not, I won't let someone die in front of me."

She grinned as Zyra rolled her eyes. "Now that sounds like something Kiba would say." Nid assured me, placing her hand on my shoulder. "As for you," she continued, turning on Zyra. "We're leaving. You'll have to trap something else to make it your prey."

"I think not." She chuckled raising her hand as vines lashed upwards towards us. Nidalee dove out of the way, but I was immediately trapped by the spiky thorns. I felt them embed into my flesh, causing me to let out a pained hiss as it began to drain the blood from my body.

The bestial huntress snarled, slashing forward with her spear in an upward arc. Zyra managed to sidestep her attacks, time and time again. "Release him. He is under my protection." Nidalee growled, twirling her weapon skillfully.

The thorn queen let out a pleasured gasp as I attempted to wriggle free of my bonds, only serving to spill more of my blood into the hungering plants. "Mmm, I don't think so. His life essence is absolutely delicious. It is much tastier than the last human who wondered into my grasp."

Taking advantage of her distraction, the amazoness leapt forward with an aerial spike towards her foe's abdomen. Zyra barely noticed in time, dodging once more only to leave an emerald green gash across her midriff. As it slowly began to patch itself up, the scent of blossoms flooded my senses, making me dizzier by the second. "Nid." I coughed, trying to hold my breath as flowers began to sprout around me. I knew all too well what would happen if she were to grow these seeds. "The buds, smash the buds."

Zyra looked shocked that I had recognized her plan. Nidalee hurled her Javelin at the Rise of Thorns before transforming and pouncing on to the buds nearby, sending them scattering a cloud of floral dust. "No!" Zyra screeched as Nidalee began to tear at the vines with her fangs.

"I'll have you out in a moment." Her voice echoed in my mind. "Just say calm." When she'd managed to free my left arm, I could feel the rumbling beneath me and immediately my thoughts went to Zyra's plants again.

I quickly shoved Nidalee away, just as sharp twisting nettles burst upwards, lancing me through multiple places on my body. As they sank back beneath the earth, as quickly as they'd come, I collapsed on the ground. The vines I had been bound in were torn to shreds by her attack as well, but I lacked the strength to move.

For a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of a white figure, perched on a rock, but the moment I blinked it was gone. Lamb? Already, I was about to die again. I couldn't even try to protect Nidalee. I wasn't a fighter, Zyra was far more powerful than I could ever hope to be.

Despite the pain that lanced through my body, I managed to clamber to my feet, swaying weakly. I'd felt worse pain than this, I reminded myself. My mind flashed back to the memories of my childhood. Heart surgery was hard, but it was simple enough to overcome. Kidney stones started to afflict me regularly since I was only twelve years old, but I could endure that too. I wasn't about to let a bunch of stupid plants cause me to give up.

As Zyra's thorns began to sprout around Nidalee, I knew I didn't have much time. My guardian let out a roar as I quickly scooped up her spear. Zyra approached the downed champion with a grin. "This will be the last time you interfere with my meal, whelp." She whispered to her. A surge of magic caused her to revert back to her human form as the plant woman leaned down to place her lips over hers. She was going to drain her the same way she drained me!

Nidalee struggled pitifully as Zyra began to suck the life from her, just as I crept behind her and with all the strength I had left, pierced the spear through her body. The huntress was shocked as her enemy crumpled to her side, the vines slowly releasing their captive from their grasp.

I stood over Zyra, again and again stabbing her with the weapon as tears streamed through my cheeks. Her viridian blood began to pool from her mouth as I screamed my anger and frustration into my attack, until finally, Nidalee's hand caught my wrist. "It's over." She whispered, causing me to look up at her with my glistening eyes. I slowly climbed off of Zyra's corpse, releasing my grip on the weapon as Nid banished it back into the wilds.

My entire body trembled as I threw my arms around Nidalee, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry." I wept. "I'm so, so sorry!" The huntress gave a knowing smile as she embraced me in return nuzzling against my cheek.

"It's alright now. The threat's gone."

I could hear the sound of plants once more bursting forth. Zyra's passive! I immediately threw all my weight against Nidalee, sending her to the ground before the large thorn harpoon slammed through my back. It'd burst through my chest, a large gaping hole through my sternum as I collapsed. I only had a few seconds before I would bleed out. This was truly the end.

"Oh no." My friend gasped, placing her hands on my shoulder. I could feel her magic lancing through my body, healing my wounds, but I also knew it was too late.

"That was good work." A soft voice complimented. Sure enough, just as I'd thought, Lamb was perched where I'd seen her figure. "Have you found an answer for the question yet?" Her words sounded almost hopeful, but as I looked at her, I could see in her eyes that she already knew my response.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I know I have no right to ask you. But please, I need more time."

Wolf let out an impatient huff, as Lamb crouched down over me beside Nidalee. "You wish to get home. Is that not so?"

"Yes."

There was a sense of sadness around her as she turned to look at the woman beside her. "Can I ask you a personal question?" She inquired, her sapphire blue gaze returning to me. "Why are you so desperate to return? You do not seem happy."

I wasn't sure how to explain to her. Would she, an immortal entity, even understand the problems I faced? "In the real world; in my world," I corrected myself, "I am many things to many people. I don't have many friends, to be honest. Those I do have, most likely wouldn't care if I were to disappear. For all I know, they're not even aware I'm gone now."

"Then why go back?"

"A long time ago," I began, "I felt...empty. My life wasn't important to me. I went to school, came home, played games, and slept. Every day, I'd do the same thing, again, and again, and again. There was only one person I cared about, very deeply. She hurt me very badly, to the point where I just stopped caring anymore. People weren't important, they were just selfish creatures out for themselves, and to me I thought, why should I be any different?"

As I spoke, she seemed to listen intently, the frozen amazoness a stark contrast to the snow white fur of the Lamb. "You don't seem that way now. I've met many who are selfish, whose hearts are ruled by greed and desire."

"Do not be mistaken spirit." I whispered. "I am indeed such a foul thing. Behind what appears to be kindness and compassion is a heart as black as your mask. I met a man by the name of Mr. Kennedy. He was one of my teachers in school. I didn't think much of him at first, but one day he accused me of cheating on a test. The person who sat beside me had turned in the same answers that I did. I assured him that I didn't, and rather than being distrustful of me, like everyone else had, he gave me a chance to prove myself." I chuckled weakly as I remembered the look on his face after turning in the next test. "The next time we had an exam, I wrote down all the wrong answers first. The student stood up and turned in her paper, then I changed my answers and turned mine in as well. From that day on, we became close. He helped me to understand all of the questions that I had about my world. When I left the school, I knew that he'd changed my life forever."

Lamb's soft hand rested on my own, and I could feel her smiling down at me. "Keep going." She urged, though Wolf's silence unnerved me greatly.

"I realized then, my life wouldn't be complete until I managed to change someone else's life the way he changed mine. That's why I became a teacher in the first place. But…" I paused. "I'm not like him. I can't be a mentor to someone else because doing so would mean being better than I am now. As of now, I'm constantly assaulted by lust, greed, desire, and all the other vices that plague me, despite how I may act. So, to answer your question, Lamb: I need to go home, because I haven't finished my obligation yet."

She considered my answer for a moment before once more gazing deep into my eyes. "One last question," she promised, "do you fear death?"

"No." I admitted. "I fear being forgotten."

"If it helps, I doubt that I will ever forget you." She replied. I said nothing in response, the Lamb looking expectantly at the wolf who simply sighed. "I shall grant you respite once more." She informed me. "But it shall be the final time. Do not waste your life again human, otherwise you will be forced to make a choice. Remember, we are always watching."

As the warm glow began to circle under me, my eyes looked up into the sockets of her mask. "Thank you." I muttered, causing her to blink in surprise. Lamb had never been thanked before, not even when one requested her arrow.

She hesitated momentarily before finally whispering, "You're welcome." Her hand grasped mine, as if not wishing to release it before I sat up with a gasp, the wound in my chest gone, save a nasty scar that rested there.

Looking around myself, Lamb and Wolf were nowhere to be found, though Nidalee looked at me in shock. "You're alive!" She cheered, throwing her arms around me tightly and hugging me close. "Thank Gods, I was so concerned."

"Why?" I asked. "Did something happen to me?"

Nidalee furrowed her brow, trying to formulate a response. "You...do not recall?" She questioned. I shook my head. "Perhaps it is for the best. Come, let us get you to Bandle City. Where do you intend to go from there?"

"Piltover. I think I know of someone who may have some information about what's happening to me."

She beamed brightly. "So you've changed your mind? You will visit my friend?"

"No." I answered, causing her to sink in disappointment. I knew my answer would upset her, but the truth was I couldn't look Kiba in the eye. I feared it would hurt far too greatly. "The one I'm looking for is a younger man. He's the Grand Master Explorer in Piltover. I haven't written of him often, but if anyone has knowledge over visiting new worlds, it would be him."

"So, we have returned to this once again." She huffed. "Another moment of you denying my existence."

"Nidalee, I wish I could make you understand. I don't deny your existence. Even now, I can sense your feelings in my own heart. Just as I'm sure you can sense my fear and apprehension." I frowned, her upset expression still not having left her face. "If you are not convinced, look at what occurred. I genuinely care, Nidalee. In my world, people think I am mad for the feelings I have over others. However, existence or not, this is not my world. I do not belong here. Even Kindred can recognize that."

"Kindred?" She gasped in disbelief. "You have met Kindred?"

"Twice, I'm afraid." I mumbled. "Twice now, Lamb has given me respite, but she told me that she is not able to do so again. To be honest, I don't deserve respite...but I get the feeling that she is giving it to me for a reason. I won't betray it, whatever that reason may be."

Nidalee came closer to me, placing her hand on my forehead. "Perhaps Zyra was right. You may have a fever. Don't worry, I'm sure there are doctors in Piltover that can help you." She assured me, but I pushed her hand away.

"I don't need a doctor." I protested. "I need a way home. Just...humor me. If Ezreal cannot find me a way back to my world, then you may judge me."

She seemed hesitant to comply, but finally she nodded in agreement. "Very well, but before we go any further, can you tell me your name?"

"Ki-" I paused. If I wasn't careful, I'd cause even more problem than I intended. "Joshua. Everyone calls me Josh, though."

"Josh." She tested, examining how it felt on her tongue. "What an odd name."

"Funny." I muttered. If anyone had an odd name it was Nidalee. "Let's get to Bandle City. Don't take offense, but I think I've had enough of the jungle for one lifetime."

She just giggled and nodded, leading me through the brush. As she walked, a slight sway in her hips mesmerised me until I realized I was staring. The lust was getting worse. I had to learn to control myself. Unfortunately, without my medication, I had no idea what may happen.

* * *

As the two of them followed along through the brush, Lamb stared at Wolf in silent contemplation. "You are awfully quiet." She commented. "Normally, it's all chase this, eat that. Are you feeling well, dearest Wolf?"

"I'm sick to my stomach." He growled. "Your respite is one thing, but did you have to remove his pain as well?" He shook his nose in annoyance. "You are worrying me, sweet Lamb."

For a moment, Lamb said nothing. It was true, the removal of the man's pain was not necessary, more rather an action that she found quite curious. She'd never done such a thing before, yet when she granted him respite, she just felt a sudden urge to shelter him from his pain. "It was necessary." She lied. "This way, he will remember the pact far more easily."

Her companion licked his chops, considering her statement. "I feel that he would remember it more if he were suffering from the ill effects as a reminder." He muttered beneath his breath. "But I trust you, sweet Lamb, so I will take your word for it. Though I feel wiping his memory of the event also served to cushion the blow of death."

"That strike pierced his heart, dear Wolf. He'd have not had memory of it anyway. That is where his memories are kept after all." This was unusual for Lamb. One lie to the Wolf was insane, but a second was completely unheard of. Now, even she was growing concerned with her behavior.

"I see." Wolf replied. "I suppose that makes some sense. Sorry for accusing you."

"All is forgiven, sweet Wolf. We are Kindred, thus we shall never part from one another." As he brushed against her, she softly stroked his neck. She hummed to herself as they carefully navigated the brush together, like an eerie dance that only they knew the steps to.

Despite her comforting words, however, Wolf could still feel that his sister seemed to be growing further away from him. In the history of all things, this had never happened before. Countless souls have taken the arrow or the chase. Kings and peasants alike, each were visited one by one. To be certain, Wolf was not _intentionally_ cruel towards the living. He enjoyed the chase, just as his namesake did, but it was not because of the pain the living felt at the end of the hunt.

Just as Lamb thrived on the courage of those who faced her arrow, he found the fear and hope intoxicating to behold. By this point in life, he'd become swift enough that he could even match the speed of Lamb's arrow, but for him it wasn't about catching the human. It was about giving them that last glimmer of hope of escape. He would run them down, sometimes for nights on end, all until the point where that hope, that aversion to death, was worn out of them. Then, when they finally accepted their fate, that was when he'd end their lives and release their souls to...wherever.

Truthfully, Wolf had no idea where the souls went after his chase, and he was almost certain that Lamb was unaware either. However, this was the natural order of things. Just as the Gods sowed the seeds of life, it was up to Kindred to reap them when they'd become ripe for the harvest. That was what disturbed him now about Lamb's reluctance to end the human. While she assured him that he was a special case, Wolf could sense nothing different about him. He was simply another blade of grass, waiting to be plucked from the mortal coil. "Little Lamb?"

"Yes, dear Wolf?"

"What is it that interests you so?"

Lamb turned to regard the Wolf, unsure of how to respond in a way he'd understand. "His soul is like a poem I read once. One of my favorites." Wolf was unsure how he felt about that answer, something his sister could sense in his expression. "Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here, To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer, To stop without a farmhouse near, Between the woods and frozen lake, The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake, To ask if there is some only other sound's the sweep, Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep." She recited in perfect iambic pentameter.

Such things, she knew, would go over the Wolf's head, but she had always felt that poetry was meant to be read aloud. If one should read it, then it should be read correctly. "I like the dark and deep part." Wolf commented. "However, I do not understand little Lamb."

"His is the Narrator, dearest Wolf. He gazes upon us, and rather than hurrying on his way, be it through arrow or fang, he hesitates. Indeed, dearest Wolf, he has stopped in our woods, and while it may confuse him greatly, he still does not feel fear, but a yearning for the day we take him." She attempted to explain. "How often, dearest Wolf, do we have one who is unable to make a decision? We often get ones who choose the arrow, feeling Death is like a bandage that is to be ripped quickly to avoid as little pain as possible. Others still flee to their heart's content, desperately attempting to escape their inevitable fate."

"Those ones are my favorite." Wolf snarled in delight, doing a cheerful twirl in the air.

"The point is, dearest Wolf, they all have their choice prepared. And yet..." her words trailed off as her eyes went to Josh where he was being led by the other woman. "He has not made his choice. He is eager to make it, yearns for it even, but he also feels the weight of his responsibilities and uses that to keep him alive. It interests me, dear Wolf, because he is the first one to have ever thanked us for our visit." She smiled softly for a moment. "Or, if that is too difficult to understand, think of it like this. By releasing his spirit back to the mortal world, it is my way of chasing him."

That was not something that had ever occurred to Wolf before. He often attempted to make Lamb excited about the chase as he was. Perhaps he was finally starting to succeed. Lamb, he knew, was far more intelligent than he was. This, he concluded, meant that her chase would of course be different. "You do know," he reminded her, "that eventually, sweet Lamb, all chases must come to an end."

"Of course, dear Wolf. I have no interest in playing this game forever. I know that it may seem odd at first, but I humbly beseech you; please, allow me to have this one soul to play with."

This time, Wolf actually agreed.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Manifesto Ch. 3

 **Author's Note: This story has been going much better than I anticipated. I hadn't planned on it getting so many views and positive feedback, so the fact that I am is a true blessing in itself. Obviously, tomorrow is Christmas, so I may not have a chapter for you then, but I'm still off all this week and next week, so I'll have plenty of time. Please keep the reviews coming, and if you like, I'd greatly appreciate it if you started sharing the story with friends. I made a similar agreement with A Boy and His Fox, but if we can get to 65 favorites, I'll start working on doing some League streams. -Kiba**

By the time we reached Bandle City, it'd already started to become dark again. I had to commend Nidalee on her patience with me. I don't think I'd ever hiked so far in my life. Every time I had to stop and take a break, she never seemed to mind. She would just sit across from me, staring with an intense curiosity. If I had to guess, I'd say that part of her still thought that I was indeed Kiba, just under some sort of mental affliction.

Something occurred to me, just as the thought crossed my mind. "Nidalee, you're not coming with me all the way to Piltover just to see if I'm telling the truth about who I am, are you?"

"N-no! Of course not. I believe you." She stammered, betraying her true feelings on the subject. At that point, I'd all but given up trying to convince her of my identity. I could understand her logic really. I looked, sounded, and smelled like Kiba. I knew things only Kiba would know. As far as she was concerned, I _was_ Kiba. Which meant, of course, that she only said what she did to try to appease me.

I always hated that. I'm awful when it comes to reading into the subtext of people's expressions and actions. I'd much rather they tell me what they want from me then having this nonsensical dance we call 'socializing'. With Remy, back in my world, we always joke about the things I say. I could say something innocent like, "Are you feeling well? You look like you're not feeling good." To which she'll usually reply with something like "Are you saying I look like crap?"

She's wonderful, I know. I often feel like she deserves better than me. Her ex was a pretty big douche bag, which of course makes me look wonderful by comparison. I always worry that one day she'll wake up and realize how I am without her rose-colored glasses. Maybe she already has and she just doesn't have the heart to tell me so.

"Josh?" Nidalee asked curiously, my silence having elicited her concern. "I'm sorry if I upset you earlier."

"Don't be." I replied simply.

Another awkward silence fell between us. "So, you said you were a writer, right?" I nodded. "So...if you wrote Kiba's story with me...then you must know who is responsible, don't you? Can't you tell someone and stop it from happening?"

I considered it for a moment when a sudden sadness overcame me. All of the people who'd died in my stories, did that mean that in this world I was the one who had killed them? "I can't." I finally responded. "It's important that Kiba discovers for himself who the culprit is. To put it simply, if I interfere, it will change his fate."

"I see." She murmured, before her eyes lit up. "Well, can you at least tell me if we end up together?" I could hear the hope in her voice, but the cheer in her question quickly diminished when she saw the look on my face.

"I'm sorry. There is someone he's destined to be with, but I'm afraid it isn't you." I considered it for a moment before reaching into my pocket where I always kept my phone. I was certain I wouldn't get signal here, but I'd probably still be able to take notes on it. "How about this? When I get back, I'll write a story, just for you. Tell me what will make you happy, and I'll do my best to give it to you."

My offer caused her to smile again, sending a warm feeling through me. I was happy I was able to cheer her up. "Thank you, I really appreciate that. I'm afraid I"ll have to think about what I want, it isn't often I've thought about it. What about you? What is it you look for in a mate?"

"That's a difficult question." I answered, standing up from my resting place on the rock near the mountain's base. "I suppose we'd have to start with personality, since I care more about that than anything else." I chuckled to myself. "Actually, when I was younger I went through a pretty difficult break up, much like yours and Kiba's. I was in your shoes, in the sense that others insisted that we didn't belong together. It was harder that she agreed. I remember laying in my bed, praying for a girl that met items on a check list. She had to be beautiful, both inside and outside. I didn't want someone who had a malicious streak. I wanted her to be a little shy, like me. I even told God that I wanted her to play video games. Well, a few years later, I met Remy."

"And she is your mate?" Nidalee asked.

"Sort of." I replied, trying to think how to explain. "She's my girlfriend, certainly. We've been together for over five years now. She's met every single one of the items I had on my list. I've heard her say a cruel thing about anyone. She looks absolutely beautiful, though she'll never admit it, no matter how hard you try to make her. We're both very shy, me more than her, but when I'm with her, I feel so open. Like, I could tell her anything and she'd understand me. We've had our problems in the past. Things I blame myself for regularly."

Nidalee looked at me curiously. "Odd, you don't strike me as the disloyal kind."

"I'm not." I quickly assured her. "At least, not really. One of the reasons I enjoy writing romances so much is because I'm such a hopeless romantic myself. I fall in and out of love very easily, and unfortunately, it's more of a curse than a gift. I'd never cheat on Remy, not in a million years, but even still, my mind wanders often, even if I will not. It frightens me greatly. A friend of mine once tried to explain it to me as being polyamorous, which means that I naturally love multiple people. But I could never tell Remy that, because I know what she'd feel. She'd begin to wonder if it was because she wasn't good enough, and I don't know how to explain to her that she is everything I could ever want. When I love other people, it isn't because I've stopped loving her."

The huntress seemed confused by it all, but elected to change the subject instead. "Come Josh, we need to get over these mountains before the sun sets or else we will have to make camp once more. I can imagine you must be pretty hungry since you haven't eaten today." As soon as she mentioned it, my stomach let out a loud and painful grumble in agreement, causing her to giggle softly. "I'll keep an eye peeled as we go, alright? I'm sure there are plenty of wild berries in the mountains we can eat."

As we both continued onward, I paused once more to glance over my shoulder. Did Kindred still follow? If so, I wondered why.

* * *

As their quarry continued through the mountains, Lamb's ears twitched in contemplation. "Wolf, what is the source of conflict in his heart?" She finally asked.

"He cannot decide what he loves most." The dark figure explained. He then added as an afterthought, "I love chasing."

She mulled over Wolf's answer for a short while before replying, "What is it like to love?" Often she'd read many poems that discussed such a thing, and accounts always seemed so...conflicting. Some would claim that it was a powerful weapon, one that could overcome any obstacle, even the Kindred herself, and thus she felt it must be something to be feared. However, other times it was said to be a curse, one that the only way to escape was through death itself, and thus it was a tool to be utilized. Even still, some explained it as a tender warmth. A comfort in the time of need of those who experienced it, until the time when all things must end, and it in turn would end with it. The idea greatly confused and excited Lamb, but never before had she sought to pursue it until now.

Wolf licked his chops, unsure of how to explain it to her. "It is not like your books, sweet Lamb. It often defies explanation."

"So you do not know?" She postulated.

Her partner bared his teeth at her insulting question. "Of course I know!" He snapped. "It is merely difficult to describe. Love is like…" he trailed off, trying to think of a good example. "Let's try it like this. Sadness is like a long hunt with no kill. Do you remember those words?"

"Yes, dearest Wolf. I recall them well."

"Love is the hunt itself. When one starts the hunt, it is unsure of how it ends. Sometimes the prey is weak and slow, the hunt ending too quickly. Others the hunt goes for ages until it finally comes to a bloody end. Regardless however, one continues to hunt, because in the end it is better to hunt and possibly lose the kill, than it is to never hunt for fear of losing it."

Lamb sighed softly. "I fear your metaphors are wasted upon me, Wolf. I still do not understand. It is logical that one hunts, even with chance of failure because to not hunt indicates constant failure."

He shook his head fervently. "Perhaps so, but that is not how love works for man." He swirled about, ensuring that their prey had indeed come to rest once more before turning back to her. "Little Lamb, what would you do if I were to leave you?"

"I...don't know." She admitted, her eyes meeting his. "Why do you wish to leave me, dear Wolf?"

"We are never apart dear Lamb, I wish for you to understand. You must imagine a day when I leave. Perhaps, something ends my tale before it is time. Perhaps, _I_ will have to accept your arrow at some day. Or imagine that you must choose to run from me?"

"I would never run from you." Lamb soothed him, stroking his muzzle. "We are Kindred, we are eternal."

"All stories must end." He reminded Lamb. "Even ours." She said nothing, simply holding on to his dark fur.

"I do not like this question." She muttered.

"It will not happen until there are none left but Kindred, only then will we _possibly_ have to make the choice." Wolf replied, attempting to console her. "But for sake of discussion, say I was lost. How would you feel, sweet Lamb?"

She paused for a moment, fiddling with thumbs in nervous thought. "I would be incomplete." She finally murmured. "Merely a fragment of who I once was. It would be a long hunt and at its end, no quarry to kill."

The Wolf gave a knowing fanged grin. "You would feel sad?" She nodded her head solemnly. "In your sadness, would you wish to forget that I existed at all?"

"Of course not, dearest Wolf!" She cried in protest. "I would never wish such a thing, no matter how much pain it causes. We are Kindred; you are my brother. I...I…" She stammered, frustrated she could not come up with a word that explained what he meant to her.

Wolf swirled around her nudging her assuringly. "The words you are looking for are 'I love you'. For man, these three words are the most sought after of all, but with it also comes fear and apprehension."

The snow-white beauty was still unsure what he meant by such a thing. "Why does it bring fear, Wolf?"

"Because, sweet Lamb, all stories must one day end. Even ours." He replied. "Love is much like life, you see? In the end, it too must make the choice. It either ends swiftly with little pain or…" He left his sentence open, knowing that she could fill in the rest.

She, however, for the first time in her existence, felt horribly distraught at the concept. Kindred was meant to fear no one, and yet, she found her biggest fear staring her in the face with glowing eyes and gnashing teeth. But unlike those they hunted, it was only his presence that managed to soothe her concerns. Finally, she asked the most difficult question she could ever ask in her life. "Do you love me, dearest Wolf?"

He drifted towards her to give her an affectionate lick on the cheek. "More than even the chase, sweet Lamb."

* * *

Coming down through the mountains, Nidalee and I stood at the tiny gates of what was appeared to be a miniature city. I was almost concerned with whether or not I could actually fit inside of it, thanks to my large stature. My weight was never something that truly bothered me, at least on a personal level. But even I had to admit that it was disadvantageous at times. Just as I stepped forward, however, a long dart embedded in the ground at my feet. I was sick of these needles.

"Don't move a muscle!" A high-pitched voice commanded from the top of the wall, which for me was about a foot higher than the top of my head. I'd recognize the voice of Satan anywhere.

"Don't worry Captain Teemo, we're not a threat." I quickly assured him. "My name is Josh, this is Nidalee. We're just passing through." He frowned, judging me with a scrutinizing gaze. Hoisting himself off the wall, the small creature landed with a thud in the dirt, waddling closer and jabbing me with his blow pipe.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" He demanded, just as Nidalee crouched down to stare him in the eyes.

"He just told you." She stated firmly. "I don't know how he knows your name, but I do know that your welcoming to Bandle City is very lacklustre in comparison to your reputation." Teemo turned on her with a glare as well, just before another voice called from the wall.

"Incoming!" With a loud boom, a tiny woman with pointed ears and blue skin landed with a grin. "Teemo, who are these two? Are they trying to invade?"

"We are not." I quickly interjected. "As I explained to the Captain, I'm Josh this is Nid. It's a pleasure to meet you Tristana." She seemed puzzled for a moment, examining my features carefully.

"Do I know you?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, but I know you. Both of you. You could say that I'm good friends with Kal." It was a lie, I knew, but it was the best explanation I had. It was difficult getting used to knowing people's names before meeting them in person, especially when I was so awful with names naturally.

Nidalee's gaze shifted to me from the corner of her eye, but she said nothing. "Very well, what business do you have here in Bandle City?" She asked. "We're kind of in the middle of a crisis right now, so we can't just let people in all willy-nilly."

I bit my lip nervously. I hadn't written a crisis for Bandle City except for Jinx's attack during A Boy and His Fox. But, according to Nidalee's statements, that should have come and gone already. We were in the middle of the Grinding of Gears timeline, which meant quite a few things, primarily that Smoothest of Criminals had yet to resolve and Lux would have just met Arcturus. "What sort of crisis?" I asked.

The two Yordles looked at one another with a frown, debating whether or not to share the information with us. "Maybe we can help." Nidalee suggested, though in truth I doubted I would be of much use, regardless of the crisis.

"Well," Teemo began, "it all started a while back. A long time ago, a young Yordle woman disappeared."

"Lulu." I commented, causing him to look surprised. "Don't ask. Continue."

"Right...So, a little while back, she shows back up out of the blue. Except now she's got these freaky powers and she has barely aged at all. She's been gone for centuries, and when she came back she started spouting out stuff about tasting colors and playing hide and seek with flowers."

"Any idea where she went?" Nidalee asked.

"All we know is that she calls it 'The Glade'. She managed to find a faerie of all things." Tristana informed us. "But as chaotic as she is, she's not the worst part."

I'd figured as much. As troublesome as Lulu was, she wasn't typically mean-spirited. She was just...odd. Truthfully, I could understand the way she felt. It was never easy being the outcast of society, especially when you were the sort to prefer living in your fantasies. "Which means that Lulu is working with someone else, and I have the sinking suspicion I know who that someone is."

"You do?" Nidalee was shocked. "How on Runeterra could you possibly know that?"

"I told you, I'm a writer. In my world, I've had to do extensive research on the major forces at play in yours so that I could write about them." The yordles seemed greatly confused by our discussion. "Lulu only really has three friends. First is Pix, her faerie as Teemo put it. Second is Gnar, whom you may have had a brush with once or twice. Tiny orange yordle that every now and then stops being so tiny. Finally, there's the Yordle that I imagine is the source of your trouble: Veigar."

Immediately, Tristana had cocked and loaded her cannon while Teemo trained his blowpipe on me again. "How could you possibly know that?!" She demanded. "You must be a spy for him!"

I immediately held up my hands in surrender. "No, of course not! I'd never do that. I told you, I'm a friend of Kal's."

"Fine. If that's true, you won't mind if we send word to him and ask him about you. If he doesn't know who you are, we'll know that you were lying. If he does and he vouches for you, then we'll know you can be trusted." Teemo hissed.

This wasn't good. If they were to do that, Kal would have no knowledge of who I was. "Alright, but listen closely as this is very important. When you ask him, mention that Nidalee is with me. I've no doubt he'll vouch for us." I commented.

As the two slowly lowered their weapons, Tristana gestured for us to walk through the gates first. "Teemo, you work on sending the message to Kal. I'll escort these two to holding."

Nidalee snarled at the small creature. "You want to cage us?!"

"Tristana," I quickly interrupted standing between the two, "I understand your concern. But given my size and Nidalee's dislike of tight spaces, maybe we should instead be put in the inn. You can have someone on detail to make sure we don't get up to trouble, and this way when you find out we're not a threat, there won't be any hard feelings." I hoped that she would take my suggestion. The last thing I wanted was for Nidalee to start pouncing and mauling Yordles who were unfortunate enough to catch her wrath. "Please?" I added desperately.

"That's not how this works." She sighed. "You should know I can't just allow possible spies out and about in our city."

"How about this? I bet I can tell you something you've never told anyone else before. Something so secret that only you know the information." I tried. "If I win the game, we get the inn. If I lose, we'll go to jail no questions asked."

Tristana smirked, leaning against her cannon. "Fine. Go ahead. I'm an open book, so there's nothing that you can possibly…"

I quickly leaned down to whisper into her ear. "While you were sailing with Kal and Ahri across the ocean to Ionia, you and Teemo shared a kiss. He told you that if you ever told anyone about it, he'd kill you in your sleep." Her eyes went wide as her cheeks turned pink.

"But...you couldn't...how could you…?" Her words were shaky as she sighed. "Fine. You can stay in the stupid inn." She muttered. "But only because I'm worried you'd tell him! If you did, he probably would blame me and say I blabbed about it."

Escorting the two of us, Nidalee pressed herself close next to me. "How did you do that?" She whispered. "Does that mean you know things about me as well?"

"More than you'd like." I muttered, my expression staying stoic and firm. I could sense the fear in Nidalee's question. For her, I imagine it would feel like an awful invasion of privacy. The thought that someone could know her innermost thoughts and feelings, even if there were things she held so dear she would never share them, it must have been terrifying. "If it's any consolation, I never expected to actually come here."

"Bandle City?"

"Runeterra." I clarified. "If you want, we can talk about it in the room. I'll tell you everything I know about you. Anything else, you can keep it to yourself. You don't have to worry about me, I'll never share your secrets with anyone."

She smiled softly. "I appreciate that. I know that so far it hasn't been great to you, but I promise Runeterra really isn't so bad."

"I don't know what you two are talking about," Tristana commented, "and I really don't want to. Here's your room. If you need me, I'll be standing just outside the door keeping watch."

With that, the two of us filed into the room, just before the door slammed shut, keeping us inside of our admittedly comfy prison. "I don't like this." Nidalee said, sitting on one of the small twin beds.

"It was either this or the clink." I reminded her. "I think that this would be preferable for you."

"A golden cage is still a cage." She murmured sadly. "And how do you know this Kal person will even remember you?"

"Oh, he won't. He's never met me before. You, on the other hand, have actually met him once."

She raised an eyebrow curiously. "I...have?"

"It will have been maybe a year or two ago by now. You were being chased by a great red beast named Cho'Gath. You'd just watched him gulp down a few members of your pride before attempting to lead him away. You took him to the badlands, but Zyra had captured you then until the point where he came after the both of you. Do you remember?"

The huntress tapped the side of her head in thought. "I...think so. I'll admit, after spending time with Kiba and Morgana, I've forgotten quite a bit about my old life. I was lucky I could even still transform afterwards."

I nodded. "The magic of the wilds comes from Kumungu Jungle. If you spend too much time out of it, I fear you lose your supernatural abilities. But to get back to the point: Cho'Gath was much too strong for anyone to handle on their own. Kal was the man who managed to help you defeat him. Before he left, you told him that Kumungu takes care of its own, and that he would be seen as a friend of the jungle."

She seemed to have some recollection of the events, but the overwhelming emotion of nervousness drowned it out. "I'll admit, Josh, you frighten me. You remember things I cannot. You even know things about my powers that until recently I had no idea of. You say you're a writer, but there must be more to it than that. What you have goes beyond a story, you've created a reality."

"One that you live in." I replied. "Yes, I know. I suppose this is every writer's dream, isn't it? To be able to walk among their characters as if they truly were alive."

Her scrutinizing gaze was locked on to me as I sat there quietly, my hands in my lap. It wasn't much easier for me to be here either. "So you control what I do? How I feel, how I think?" She asked, a tinge of anger of in her voice.

I shook my head. "A good writer does not use characters as if they are puppets on a string. A good writer watches as his creations grow with him."

"So you made me?" She scoffed.

"No. Someone else created you. I merely used you in my work. There are a few characters I've created myself. You've met two of them so far: Kiba and Kal."

"Why me?"

"I"m sorry?"

Her features became more melancholic as she pulled her legs up on to the bed. "Why did you use me? The feelings I have for Kiba, they were real. Even if I admit that I made a mistake, why would you let me? You're supposed to be the one that influences events. Why did you have to hurt me?"

My breath caught in my throat. "It's not something I enjoy, you know?" I muttered. "I don't like to cause anybody pain. The reason I cried when we fought Zyra...it wasn't because I was scared, it was because I could feel the weight of her life falling onto my shoulders. I'm really sorry Nidalee, I didn't mean to hurt you. I had a role that you needed to play, so I had you play it."

"What role?" She sniffled, the both of us now starting to become emotional.

I stood from my bed, walking to sit beside her. Taking her hands in mine, I tried to explain. "Kiba, as I've told you before, is what I wish I was like. He's charismatic, charming, a skilled writer. That's what I want for myself. But he and I are also similar in that he struggles with love. See, every character I make is, in a way, an aspect of myself taken to the extreme. In a way, Kiba is all of those aspects taken to the extreme. Your role Nidalee was to provide him with a realization, one similar to your own."

"What's that?"

"Just because two people care about each other, it doesn't mean they are destined to be together. People say that love conquers all. In some ways, it's true. But at other times, you'll reach hurdles that love can't solve. Case in point, Kiba's love for you would not have given you back your powers. You wouldn't have gone back to the jungle. To put it simply, you would be absolutely miserable. Maybe you'd have stayed together for a year or two, maybe longer, but in the end you'd realize the truth: you were made for the jungle and he was made for the city. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. It just means that of the people meant for you, Kiba is not one of them. You helped him to realize that his first love doesn't have to be his only one."

She sighed, surrendering herself by curling up on the bed with her head in my lap. I could tell she was hurting, and I felt awful that not only had I caused it, but that I couldn't do anything to make it better either. "I'm not angry at you." She finally said. "I've thought a lot about Kiba since I returned to the jungle. For days, I hoped he'd come visit me in the Jungle. If he did that, maybe he'd find out he could be happy here too. But when he didn't show up, I knew that it wasn't meant to be." Taking my hand, she clung to it, nuzzling it with her cheek. "That's why when I saw you, I became so excited. I thought, maybe now I have a chance again."

"For what little comfort it gives: I _am_ sorry." I whispered. :It hurts when I write bad things happening to others. But sometimes, it has to happen, for the sake of growth as a person. I promise though, I'm going to find a way to make it up to you."

With a smile, she leaned up to kiss my cheek. "Thank you."

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the inn, causing me to quickly stand and rush to the window. Outside, a yordle in dark blue reminiscent of a black mage from Final Fantasy stood cackling maniacally. "Run fools, run!" Something was strange about him though. Now he was the size of a full grown human.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Manifesto Ch. 4

Once more the building rumbled beneath our feet as Veigar released another massive burst of dark energy upon the panicked mob of Yordles. Tearing open the door, I saw that Tristana had now loaded her cannon and was now pointing it at us. "You!" She demanded. "This was your doing, wasn't it? Distracting me so that he could make his attack?"

"Listen to me!" I quickly urged her. "We don't have time to argue. Every person he kills out there will only make him stronger, so we need to shut him down hard and fast." Tristana looked conflicted as she continued to aim her rocket launcher at me. Taking a moment, she glanced out the window to see many of the dead littered across the ground. When her eyes rested upon Veigar, she took a sharp breath of shock.

"What happened to him? How did he get big like that?"

Suddenly, the window behind her blew out, sending a cloud of glass and splinters into the hallway. His laughter could be heard much louder now. "Lulu. She has a spell that can make things grow. No doubt she used it on him to make him harder to take down. You two go and distract him. If Lulu is around, maybe I can talk to her and convince her to leave the matter alone."

Nidalee nodded, transforming into a panther and leaping through the open hole of the inn. Tristana, however, remained glued to the spot, her eye trained on me. "But...I…" She was so upset she was shaking.

"Go." I urged her softly. "I know you don't trust me, but think of what I knew. I'm the only one who can try to convince them to stop, but I need your help. I can't fight, so you'll have to do the fighting for me."

She looked to the opening then back to me before letting out a frustrated shout and rocketing herself out into the square. As she landed with a thud next to Nidalee, she immediately recocked her launcher, aiming it up at Veigar. "This is for blowing up our city!" She screamed, launching a spiked grenade to plant on his chest. It beeped momentarily as he looked puzzled before it exploded with massive force, sending him sprawling on his back.

I had to take advantage of the time I'd been given. There was no telling where Lulu was, but she couldn't be far. Clambering on to the roof of the inn, I managed to catch a glance of a purple light coming from the woods. The choice was so obvious, I chastised myself for not thinking so sooner. I had to stop her. She, more than Veigar, would be willing to listen to reason. The next step would be to prevent Tristana or Teemo from killing the tiny master of evil, but I would cross that bridge when I got there.

Breaking through the tree line, already I could hear Lulu's cheerful humming. As a support main, Lulu always held an interest for me. I was confident in my ability to relate to her. Much like the children I taught, she had her quirks, but her social attitude made it much easier to communicate. The key would be to keep her from having a melt down.

"C'mon Pix!" She giggled, running behind a tree as her fairy friend chased after her. However, as the fairy vanished behind the tree, they both reappeared from one much closer to me, stopping straight in my path. I tried to stop, accidentally tripping over her and falling to the ground beside her. "Ow!" She whined, turning on me angrily. "What would you do that for?!"

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" I asked, causing her to look at me puzzled.

"You're not a Yordle!" She declared suddenly, clapping her hands together as if she'd just made some brilliant discovery. "But...what are you doing here?"

I noticed her staff in her hand as Pix flapped carefully towards me to inspect me closer. Maybe if I got the staff away from her she wouldn't be able to cast any spells. "Looking for you, actually." I replied slowly as Pix fluttered back to her to whisper something in her ear.

She giggled uproariously. "Pix says you're trying to do something silly." She informed me, her eyes gleaming. "Trying to take my staff away? That won't help you at all."

He could read my thoughts? I'd heard of stories where sprites could view what was in a person's heart. Who'd have thought that such a thing would happen on Runeterra as well? "Yeah," I agreed quickly, "I suppose that was a silly thought. Listen Lulu, I need you to stop helping Veigar. He's hurting a lot of innocent people."

"Veigar?" She questioned, looking confused. "I don't know him."

"Yordle...blue hat. Constantly talking about world domination. Ring any bells?" I tried to remind her.

"Oh! Yes, I know him." She smiled softly. "He's my friend."

I had heard once that when you want someone to think you're taking them seriously it was important to get on eye level with them. It was one of the things I've always used in my work. If a student ever wanted to talk to me, I tried to be sitting. Being over six foot six, my height often intimidated children who didn't know me. While Lulu certainly didn't seem frightened, I figured it couldn't hurt anyway and so I crossed my legs to sit in front of her. "Well, your friend is hurting a lot of people. That spell you put on him to make him big is causing a lot of trouble for Bandle City." I explained calmly. "I can understand you want to help your friend but…"

"Who cares what stupid Bandle City thinks?" She grumbled, her face flushed with anger. "They were all so mean to me when I finally came back. I tried to play Hide and Seek with the other kids but they kept me away."

My heart began to race as she complained. I had to find a way to calm her down. "Lulu?"

"What?!" She snapped, before realizing she was shouting and taking a breath.

I looked through the trees to see that the city still had smoke pouring from it. I hoped Nidalee was okay. As much as I needed to hurry, I knew this wasn't something I could rush. Taking a deep breath, I smiled at her. "Could you tell me about him? Your friend, I mean." I was certain there wasn't much I didn't already know, but she just giggled and plopped down in front of me anyway.

"Sure!" She placed her staff across her lap as Pix landed calmly on her shoulder. "When I met Pix, I was just a little girl. Everyone thought I was weird, so I didn't have very many friends. So we played all day, but when I got back so much time had passed. So I went back home to Bandle City, but they kicked me out of the village. I don't know why."

I knew exactly why. Transforming children into plants and animals to make the game more interesting is not what they'd consider socially acceptable. "I imagine that must have been pretty upsetting." I commented, ignoring my less-than-tactful thoughts. She nodded her head sadly. "So then you met Veigar, right?"

"Who?"

"Your friend."

"Oh! Yes. When I met him, he came up to me and said the sweetest thing." Her eyes seemed to shimmer as she let out a heartfelt sigh. "He just looked me in the eyes, grabbed me by the shoulders, and shouted 'Stop crying! I'm trying to plot my world domination!' It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me."

I bit my tongue to prevent saying something stupid. "That sounds really nice." I lied. "I bet you decided then that you really wanted to help him. He was your only friend, other than Pix that is." I quickly added, looking to the small sprite.

"That's right." She replied, giving me a weak smile. "So I decided to cast my spell on him so he could blow up that stupid city! If no one else wanted to be my friend, why should I care about them?"

Finally, I was starting to make some progress. "I'll be your friend, Lulu." I offered, causing her jaw to drop in surprise.

"You will?!" She squealed in delight. "Hooray! I love new friends. What game should we play first? There's always hide and seek. Oooh oooh, we can also play tag or duck, duck, goose!"

"I'll gladly play with you, but under one condition."

"Name it! Whatever you want!"

"I know that the Yordles in Bandle City were mean to you and your friend. I imagine it was very hard for you to have to leave your home. They probably called you mean names and all sorts of stuff. But you're not like them, Lulu. You're better than that, right? Be the better Yordle."

Her eyes glimmered with excitement. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course." I replied with a smile. "If you want, I'll even come with you."

"Okay!" She beamed. "Let's go!"

Taking her small hand in mine, the two of us made our way to the end of the woods and down into Bandle City. Releasing her, I put my hands in my pockets with a smile. Finally, things were going to be okay. I wouldn't have to worry about Bandle City anymore. They'd stop seeing me as a threat and realize that Lulu wasn't as bad as she seems.

Standing on the hilltop, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs. "Hey, Veigar!"

He held up his staff, causing a large ethereal cage to surround Nidalee and Tristana before turning back to look at Lulu. "Lulu?! What are you doing out here?" He shouted back, though his sounded far more angry than hers.

She raised her arm to point at me before replying, "This guy says we're better than the Yordles in Bandle City! Crush those inferior life-forms! We must create a far more superior breed of Yordles that are really good at Hide and Seek and won't kick other Yordles out!" My eyes went wide as I felt the color run from my face.

"HE SAID WHAT?!" Tristana boomed.

Veigar sniffled, wiping away a tear. "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!" He cried, just as a massive missile struck him in the back of the head, sending him toppling on to his face.

"Veigar!" Lulu cried, gripping her stick tightly and rushing down the hill to help him.

"No, Lulu. Wait!" I called after her, running behind her quickly just as a poisoned dart flew past me. Teemo had returned, but this time he had an angry scowl on his face. It was obvious I needed to get out of here, but I couldn't abandon the city or Nidalee. Sliding down the hill, I arrived just as Lulu was attempting to help Veigar up. "Lulu! That is not what I meant when I said 'Be the better Yordle!' I meant you should forgive them and stop blowing up the city!"

"That's dumb." She grumbled. "Why would I do that? If he blows up the city, then we'd have a really big play ground to play games in."

Before I could argue the point, a massive cannonball slammed into her chest, knocking her off her feet. As her hat fluttered to the ground, I turned to see Tristana and Teemo coming closer. In their eyes was a lust for blood.

Veigar had begun to try to get up, but I quickly put my foot on his back to keep him down before spreading my arms out to shield Lulu with my body. "That's enough!" I shouted, causing both parties to immediately give pause.

Nidalee rushed to Tristana's side with a snarl. "Move out of the way!"

"No!" I snapped. "Don't you guys get it? This was the sort of thing that started this whole mess."

"Where do you get off lecturing us after calling us inferior?" Teemo growled, readying his blowgun at me. "As far as I'm concerned, friend of Kal or not, that's grounds for execution."

"Listen to how stupid you sound right now." I protested. "I didn't say you were inferior. I said that you were unfair to Lulu and Veigar. If you'd just-"

"Unfair?" Tristana interrupted. "She turned kids into plants, all for her sick demented games! If anything, this whole attack is what's unfair. She sicked this vicious monster on us and you think _we_ were unfair?!"

"How can you even call him that?" I demanded. "Do you know why he's doing this? You have no idea, do you? The reason why he hates you so much is because you all left him to rot in a Noxian prison. He was tortured for years and did you do anything to save him?"

Tristana and Teemo both fell quiet as Veigar struggled to point his staff at them, but I plucked it from his hands. "Hey, that's mine!" He cried, just before I snapped it in two over my leg.

"Shut up and pay attention." I ordered. "All of you need to stop fighting with each other. Just because someone is different, doesn't mean you can just cast them out. Did you even try to explain to Lulu what she did wrong? Because when I tried to talk to her about it, she had no clue! Of course she'd want to lash out at you! You kicked her out of her home and you couldn't even be bothered to tell her why."

"That's it!" Teemo boomed. "I'm tired of this." Just as he went to fire however, Nidalee's spear swung outward, slicing the hollow tube in two before placing the tip of the blade at Tristana's throat.

"If you even think about following his example, it'll be the last mistake you make." She growled, before nodding to me. "Go ahead, Kiba."

"Veigar and Lulu are leaving." My words were a statement at this point, not a suggestion. "You will not pursue them under any circumstances, do I make myself clear? They're to be left alone. If I find out that you hurt them, either of them, when I return to my realm I will write you both a fate worse than death."

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Tristana mocked before Nidalee pressed the blade further against her neck, silencing her.

"As for you two," I continued, turning to see Lulu slowly getting to her feet, a look of shame on her face as she picked up her hat, "you'll leave Bandle City alone as well. I know you want to get back at them, but revenge is never a good path to go down. It won't make you happy, if anything it'll just be worse. All actions have consequences. All of the people you've killed today deserve justice, so on behalf of Bandle City, I'm continuing to impose their banishment."

Lulu hiccuped, her eyes starting to stream tears. "Why are you being so mean to us?" She whimpered. "You said you were our friend."

"Being a true friend means telling you when you're wrong, just as much as it means defending you when you're right. I'm not saying I won't be your friend, Lulu. I'm saying that you've made a mistake and that this is the way to correct it." I knelt down in front of her, Veigar letting out a groan from the shifted weight. I beckoned her closer, and when she approached I drew her into a tight hug. "I meant what I said, Lulu. You can be the better Yordle still. Believe me, it's not easy, I know. People can say such hurtful things, but you don't have to be that way, too."

Her arms wrapped back around me as she hugged me tightly. "But...what should I do? I don't know where to go."

"What if you and Veigar went back to the faerie world?" I suggested. "He could take over that place without hurting anyone. You and he could have lots of fun playing games together. You'd be able to stay there for a really long time and when you finally decide to come back to try to ask for forgiveness again, people will probably have forgotten all about it."

Lulu began to sob as she clung to me tightly. Veigar began to struggle beneath me. "Stop that infernal crying!" He protested, causing Lulu to sniffle and wipe away her tears.

"Veigar's right." She whispered. "I should cheer up. Thank you both for being such good friends. Are you coming with us?"

I shook my head solemnly. "Sorry Lulu, but I can't." She appeared so crestfallen, so I quickly added, "But that doesn't mean we aren't friends." I took her hand in mine, linking her pinky together. "Just like I told Kal and Ahri. When you make a pinky promise, it means that you're bound by fate. No matter how far apart we are from each other, we'll always be friends, and that's what this means. Understand?"

She just nodded slowly. "Yes. I understand."

"Good. Go ahead and get your stuff, okay? I'm going to talk to Veigar in private real quick and I'll send him after you."

"Okay."

As Lulu walked back to the woods, I waited for her to be out of earshot before grabbing the now shrunken Veigar by the scruff of his neck and lifting him up. "Listen to me and listen very closely Veigar." I hissed. "I know you were hurt, and I feel for you, truly I do, but that little girl thinks the world of you. She wants nothing more than to be your friend, and you _will_ be her friend, because if you hurt her, I will know, and believe me I will not make things pretty for you."

"Release me foolish human! I am the master of evil! I shall teach you the meaning of pain!"

My grip only tightened on him as I stared deep into his eyes, my own reflecting the anger and ferocity that I felt inside of me. I was never good at hiding my emotions from others, and while it's always been a tough thing to overcome, it allowed me to get my feelings across very easily when I needed to. "Enough." I stated coldly, causing him to immediately fall still. "You will stop attacking Bandle City. As far as I care, if you decide to try to conquer the Faerie Realm or whatever, fine, as long as you don't hurt anyone. For your sake, try to be nice to Lulu. There may just come a day where she realizes how black your heart is and decides to leave you, and when that happens, you may just realize what you've lost. Do I make myself clear?" He said nothing, so I shook him. "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear." I enunciated, causing him to flail about.

"Yes, yes. Fine! Just let me go!" He protested.

I dropped him to the ground impatiently and pointed towards the woods. "Do _not_ leave her waiting for you. Go." As he began to walk, I called after him. "Hurry up."

He immediately sprinted off into the woods, causing me to collapse against the hill with a sigh of relief. My heart was pounding in my chest. Placing my hand over it, I could feel it thumping harshly and I hoped that it'd calm down soon. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with a heart condition that was a result of extra muscles inside of my heart. Because of it, my heart beat much faster than a normal persons, which could be incredibly dangerous to my health. Even though I ended up getting it surgically repaired when I was young, my heart still beat a little faster than average, so I tried my best to keep my anger in check.

"Are you okay?" Nidalee asked, having now joined my side. "I can hear your blood rushing through your body."

"I'm fine." I assured her with a wink. "I just need a bit of rest is all. How bad is it?"

"Twelve dead, fifteen injured." She answered. "Thankfully, Tristana and I were able to distract him from doing any further damage than he already had."

"I still don't like this." Tristana interjected, walking forward with a grumpy Teemo who was still staring at his broken blowpipe with a huff. "You just let two very dangerous criminals walk out of here."

"That's the problem, Tristana. Even if you'd stopped them and punished them, they wouldn't see it as compensation. They'd see that as an offense against them. No doubt it'd only cause the cycle to start all over again." I coughed weakly, my lungs still trying to adjust to my heart rate. "Now, about those train tickets…"

* * *

Lamb hummed cheerfully as she paused at the next Yordle. After selecting the bow, just as they all had, she fired it with a twang, sending its soul into the next realm. "This is so boring." Wolf complained. "None of these Yordles want a chase! Where's the excitement? Where's the fear?"

"Patience, Wolf." She replied calmly. "Did you not hear the human's speech? These Yordles are no doubt at peace thanks to him."

"I am starting to dislike the human more and more." He snarled, baring his fangs at one of the Yordles that had managed to pull through just close enough to death to see the two of them. "Why does he insist on ruining my fun?"

She let out a light giggle, finishing off another one. "I do not think he is doing it on purpose, dearest Wolf. Can you not hear it, even now? He may talk a big game, but the sound of his heart indicates that he is certainly not calm. He is trying hard to conceal it from his companion though." Lamb, having finished her duties put her bow back on its sling, approaching the frozen figures carefully. "Still, were you not impressed by his actions?"

The dark and shaggy creature shook its snout free of the blood of one of the corpses he'd been sniffing. "Oh yes," he answered sarcastically, "I was very impressed by the way he made things worse before changing absolutely nothing."

The pale huntress beckoned her companion over to her, kneeling just inches away from the human's face. "Look. In his eyes, can't you see? His words are more than just sounds that escape his lips, they are the inner messages of his heart dying to escape." The beast just rolled his eyes, but Lamb quickly took hold of his ear, pulling him closer to her and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You may know much about love, dearest Wolf, but I know far more about words. This human, through his words, has shown astounding bravery. Like many poets, he has shown that when wielded correctly, words can be used as a shield to protect those one cares about."

"Or a weapon?" Wolf asked.

She smiled. "Yes, Wolf. Or a weapon. But it requires more than just saying the words, there's a certain...life...to them. They need to be breathed into in order to make them truly shine out instead of just being sounds that escape us."

"That 'life' you're describing is called emotion." He corrected her. "This one seems to have a lot of it."

"I feel that is a good thing."

"It can be." Wolf mused. "But it can also be a bad thing. If a person cannot control their emotions, they tend to make irrational decisions based on them. For example, this human has just released the two little ones who slaughtered all of the others. By letting them go, they are now free to repeat their actions."

"But...but…" Lamb protested. "But they said they would not!"

"You know, as well as I, sweet Lamb, that not all words are truthful."

"What about his words?" She asked, her hand lightly reaching out to rest on his cheek. "Were they truthful?"

Her brother shook out his fur, now satisfied that he was clean. "Who can say? Even if his words were honest this time, it does not mean he is incapable of dishonesty. All mortals are dishonest, little Lamb. At one point or another, everyone tells a lie."

"Why do they lie, dear Wolf?"

"Some do it out of mercy. For example, when the human supported the girl's friendship with the angry one, he did so for her sake, more than for the other one's . You could see the doubt in his eyes when he let the one called Veigar go. Others do it to deceive. There are many reasons to conceal the truth from others, Lamb. I am simply pleased that we are honest with one another."

For the first time in her existence, a pang of guilt ran through Lamb's heart. Even still she nuzzled against her companion. "I concur. I am pleased as well." Another lie, she noted. The quickness of its occurrence startled her greatly. It seemed like lying once only led to further lies, but for some reason, she could not help herself. The last thing she wished was to upset her brother, and so she remained silent about her thoughts.

She could feel something strange about the human. She hadn't truly thought about the things her and her brother had discussed until she'd encountered him. The truth was, if he died again, she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to grant him her arrow. But at the same time, she knew that she certainly didn't want him to take the chase. "What's wrong?" Wolf asked, pulling her from her stupor.

"Nothing." She lied again, quickly moving to finish her work. "We shall have to follow him to Piltover to discover just what is in store for him. Perhaps on his way there he will make his choice." Despite the hopeful tone she'd used, in truth part of her wanted him to never choose.

Soon, the group was on the train as it rattled down the tracks. Wolf curled up sleepily on the seat, a reflection of Nidalee who did the same beside Josh. "Don't think I didn't notice." He suddenly spoke up, surprising Lamb who looked closely at him. Had he somehow managed to see her? Her heart raced as she leaned closer. "I heard you call me 'Kiba', Nidalee. I don't know if that means that you don't believe me, or if it's just a slip of the tongue, but either way you should be more cautious. I'm not Kiba. I'm just…" He paused for a moment before punctuating the thought with a sigh. "Not that it matters. You can't hear me anyway. I wish I had the courage to speak my thoughts to you directly, but I'll have to settle for this. I appreciate that you think so highly of me, but you shouldn't. I'm not anything special."

"That's not true." Lamb whispered to him, careful not to wake Wolf. "You are special, I can feel it." Her hand extended ever so carefully, trembling as it brushed against his cheek. He stirred slightly in surprise, looking around himself. Had he managed to feel her? Leaning closer to his ear, she whispered, "None are perfect. What's important is that you strive to be."

Looking towards her companion to ensure he was still asleep, she reached to her mask, removing it and revealing a beautiful pale face, much like a porcelain doll. Leaning forward, she placed a gentle kiss on the side of his cheek. Never before had she removed her mask for a human, but for him she felt it worthy.

Affixing it back in place, she sighed softly, leaning back against her seat to stare at the passing landscape. Josh's hand absently went to Nidalee's hair, running through it as he stared blankly ahead.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Manifesto Ch. 5

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone, sorry that this chapter has taken so long. I'm still working on the school play and a bunch of other stuff. I can tell you that the next update is An Inkling of Sympathy, my T-rated Splatoon fanfiction. Please feel free to read it, even if you don't know anything about Splatoon. The story is self-explanatory, and I could really use your support to drive me to the top. That being said, tickets for the play (written by me) will go on sale soon, so for those of you in the Houston, Texas area (or willing to travel) it'd be wonderful to see you there. Most of the school's funds come from the play and silent auction, and as a non-profit organization, you can rest assured that it's for a good cause. Not to mention, you'll be allowed to meet me in person, and there may even be a signed copy of my original novel for sale in the auction! I'll release an update when they finally do go on sale, and I hope to see some of you there. -Kiba**

As the train rattled along the track, I couldn't help but feel the soft smile crossing my lips. When I was younger, my parents often took me on old steam train rides, but before I hit the age of ten, almost all of them had been shut down. It was a shame that in Texas, it was so difficult to try to find a train that would take you across the country. While I never have had an aversion to flying, I still think it would be fun to take a train across the continent.

Beside me, Nidalee stretched out with a tired yawn before looking up at me and rubbing her eyes. "Kiba?" She muttered, causing me to shake my head.

"Still not me." I replied, causing her to frown. She nuzzled closer, pressing her head against my shoulder. A pang of guilt ran through me. I could feel the hurt on Remy's face were she to be here with me, watching all of this unfold. Even still, I couldn't bring myself to push Nidalee away.

"Can you tell me about your world?" She finally asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "I know you probably think I don't believe you…"

I took a deep breath, unsure of how to respond. "It doesn't matter what I think." I answered. "What you believe, what you don't believe...it's all up to you, right? When was the last time anyone was ever able to change someone's beliefs?"

"It's happened."

I turned my head to regard her. "When?"

She beamed at me. "You should know, Mr. Writer. Kiba changed the way I thought about a lot of things. I always viewed the city as this awful place. People are so nasty to one another, and they don't even have the excuse of self-preservation. They cut down hundreds of thousands of trees. They wiped out many animals who did nothing to warrant it. The fact that someone would live there was just proof that they didn't care about anything else but themselves." She let out a gentle sigh, nuzzling closer, effectively sandwiching me between her and the wall of the train. "But Kiba always seemed to have faith in people. For him, the past wasn't some horrible atrocity, but it wasn't an accomplishment either. It simply...was. He showed me that many of the people in the city were just trying to survive in their own way. Not everyone could live in the jungle the way I did."

"In my world, people could stand to have such a mentality." I explained, after having given what she said some thought. "One hundred and fifty years ago, our world was full of burning hatred. People were treated horribly for reasons as foolish as what they looked like." She tilted her head in curiousity. "Imagine if in the jungle, black lions were treated as slaves by the brown ones, simply because of the color of their fur. That was the world back then. At the time, no one thought anything of it. It was just the way the world worked."

"What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "There was a war. A terrible one. In my country, even families were split apart and fighting against themselves. A lot of people died, all because they couldn't change the beliefs of others. Over half a million people died in the war. I believe as much as anyone that sometimes you have to fight for what you think is right...but where do we draw the line? When do we realize that our only option left is to take a person's life?"

"Maybe...maybe they take lives because they don't know what words to say?"

"Maybe." I muttered bitterly. "Once the war ended, the enslaved were released and considered free men and women. But even still, they were treated as inferiors. It took exactly one hundred years from the end of the war before it became common practice to view others as equals. For the last fifty years, it's been spread throughout schools and the world that people cannot be treated poorly simply for being different, and yet...in a way, nothing has changed."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "That sounds like things are getting better."

"Perceptions are colored." I replied. "Black lions often still view the brown ones as oppressors. Brown lions fear the black lions seek retribution. Some do demand retribution, even though the ones who've caused the suffering have been dead and gone for a long time. Ignorance and hatred are taught to children by their ignorant and hateful parents. Even now, wars are spread and fought over ignorance."

"Does your world have a League of Legends as well?" She questioned, seemingly interested in hearing what I had to say. "Surely, they could…"

"It's not that simple." I interrupted plainly. "Unlike in Runeterra, we have no magic. They say power corrupts, and so we try our best to find representatives who are only slightly less corrupt and lean towards our beliefs rather than the beliefs of others. In a sense, we have our own version of Demacia and Noxus. It all boils down to what role you feel the government has. Do they enforce morality or do they protect freedom?"

"Morality." She stated.

"Imagine, if you will, that Kiba is in the hospital with an illness. There is only one type of medicine that will save his life, and it costs 1000 valors to make. The man who makes it, the only man who does, charges 2000 valors for it. You only have 1500 valors, and despite that you've begged him, he refuses to sell you the medicine. Now you're faced with a choice: Do you steal the medicine, thus committing a crime? Or do you obey the law and let your friend die?"

Nidalee froze as the question ran through her mind. Wrapping her arms around herself, the conflict could be seen in her eyes. "I…I don't know."

I gave her a knowing smile. "You're not alone." I answered. "People sometimes expect morality to be black and white, but the truth is there is no such thing. Everything has a gray area, regardless what anyone will try to lead you to believe."

"What would your choice be?" She asked. I feared that she was starting to look to me as a moral compass, which was the last thing I wanted. "Would you steal the medicine?"

I took a deep breath, scratching my head. "Yes." I finally answered. "Well, sort of anyway. I'd take the medicine and leave the 1500 valors in its place. After getting the medicine to my friend, I'd most likely be arrested. From there, I'd enter into a plea bargain, reducing my sentence most likely to less than a year in jail. One year for the rest of a friend's lifetime? That's hardly even a question in my book."

"Sounds like you've given this a lot of thought." She whispered. "Do you ever worry that maybe you overthink things?"

"To be completely honest, I know I do. But if you don't over think things, who's to say you haven't thought about it enough? What if you make the wrong decision and people get hurt because of a mistake that could have been avoided had you just paused and thought about it before hand?"

She simply grinned at me. "I don't think there's anything you could really do by mistake that would make you a bad person. I think you blame yourself for negative outcomes, even ones you can't predict. So you complicate things to try to prevent them from happening more, but by doing so you detach yourself from the world around you. What is it that makes you so concerned for your morality?"

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. Of course, I knew the reason why, but I wasn't sure I was willing to share it with her. My silence caused her smile to slowly fade from her features. Finally, I muttered, "Let's just say, I've seen what happens to me when I've lost control." Already, I could feel the tears coming again. I sniffled, running the back of my hand over my eyes as I turned from her to continue staring out the window.

"You hurt someone." She commented. I solemnly nodded my head. "Have you asked their forgiveness?"

"I'm far too scared to try." I answered, pulling my knees up to my chest. I didn't like this. It felt like every moment I was in this world, the further down into the dark depths of my past I descended. "Some, I wonder if they even remember. Others, I wonder if they'll ever forget." I shuddered, an invisible chill passing through me. "The worst part of an eidetic memory," I continued, "is that even if they forget, I never will."

She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. "If it helps, I think you're a good person. You went out of your way, not to just save Bandle City, but the other two yordles as well. That says a lot about your character."

"It says more about my guilt." I muttered. I didn't return the hug, but even still I was grateful for the gesture. Truthfully, however, part of me wished she was repulsed. I couldn't help but wonder if she stuck around solely because she still thought I was Kiba or if she was just being nice. "I'm trying to make up for the bad things I've done. I know that that's not how it works. The good I do won't ever counteract the bad, but I'm not sure what else to do."

"The fact that you even feel guilt is evidence enough that you're not as bad as you think you are. A truly bad person doesn't show repentance or remorse. You want to bear the world on your shoulders because you think you deserve to do so."

"So, what? It's some sort of Socrates thing? I know I'm not good, and that's what makes me good? I doubt that it works that way."

"Socrates?"

I took a deep breath, staring intently at the landscape that whizzed by. "Basically, Socrates was considered the wisest man in my world a long time ago, but he didn't agree. So he went around looking for someone who was wiser than him, because he _knew_ that he wasn't wise. Every person he talked to, he would ask them questions about their claims until they either began questioning themselves or sent him away in frustration. Finally, he reasoned that the only thing that made him wiser than the others was that he was aware of his own lack of wisdom on matters."

"What happened to him?"

"He was killed." I replied. "In the end, he was charged for disrespect to the Gods and corruption of youth. He made a sound argument, and despite that, the city was so annoyed by him, they labeled him guilty anyway. His crimes normally would have been a fine, but instead they executed him. His friends even tried to help him escape, but he faced his death head on. He told them, 'Even if I was falsely accused, it would be wrong for me to break out of jail, and so I await my death.' In the end, he was poisoned with hemlock. Supposedly, he didn't feel any pain. Thank God for small mercies, I guess."

Nidalee followed my gaze out the window. "It sounds like you have a lot of respect for him."

"I respect anyone who can follow their morals even when staring in the face of death. Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi...they all had one thing in common: they refused to become violent, even when others were violent around them. Truthfully, I wish I could be more like them."

"I...don't know who any of those people are." Nidalee murmured bashfully. "But I feel like it's important. Sorry."

For the first time during the train ride, I actually cracked a smile. "It's alright. I wouldn't have expected you to. My world grew very differently from yours, even if there is a lot that we share in common. Thank you Nidalee, for listening to me. I know it's not easy being around me."

Her embrace tightened around me as she nuzzled against my cheek. "Don't mention it." She whispered. "I enjoy listening to you talk. Even if you are making all of this up, and I'm not saying you are, it still seems to have a goodness to it."

My smile quickly faded. "Well, then I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

"You haven't disappointed me." She replied, trying to think of a way to comfort me. A gleam in her eyes reflected in the window, signaling that something had occurred to her. "You said that you wished you were more like Kiba. Well, I know something that neither of you know. Whenever you fight with someone, and I mean truly fight them in a kill or be killed mentality, you learn a lot about them. There is real evil in our world, and as much as you may wish to deny it, this is your world too. I've stared it in the face. Hells, I've nearly been killed by it."

"I don't…" She interrupted me by placing a finger to my lips.

"Just...let me finish. As I said, I've met real evil. The kind of sinister nature that kills with no remorse or reluctance. Not even for food or land, but simply because they could. You're not evil. You fear that you are, because that's what all good men fear."

As she pulled her hand from my face, I found myself struggling to look her in the eye. "You don't understand, Nidalee. You don't know the things I've done."

"It is not a person's deeds that make them evil." She assured me, cupping my cheek. "It's their feelings that judge just how bad or good they truly are."

I shyed away from her touch, returning once again to the window. "I just wish my feelings would pick a side." I muttered.

* * *

"Wolf? Wolf! Wake up!" Lamb urged him, shaking his dozing figure. "Something's wrong!"

The urgency of her voice startled him awake, causing him to snap his jaws around him wildly before seeing that there was no emergency to be found. Releasing a sigh of relief, he settled back down into the seat, gazing up at his sister. "What's the matter little Lamb? Did you have a nightmare?"

"It's the human." She explained, lifting her finger to the frozen visage that sat, his chin resting in his palm as he stared out into the night. "He's acting strangely."

Grouchily, the half-asleep Wolf moved closer to him, sniffing curiously around the man. "He's just sad, Lamb. Go back to sleep." He grumbled, clambering back onto his resting place. Just as he closed his eyes, however, Lamb prodded him once more. He opened up one eye to regard her before, in a rather impatient tone, he growled, "This had better be important."

"Why is he sad, Wolf?"

"How should I know? Haven't you been listening? I've been asleep this entire time."

"He says that he's a bad person. Is that why he is sad?"

Wolf sighed. It would seem that he would not get any more sleep for a while. He scratched himself behind his ear before replying. "Humans strive to be something better than themselves. It is what drives them to do the silly things they do, little Lamb." With Lamb seemingly content, Wolf once more closed his eyes to return to sleep. Once again, however, he felt her gentle hand press against him. "What now?"

"What drives us?"

"The natural order." Wolf replied. "We do not get better or worse because we are meant to be in the middle. We are neither good nor evil. We are neither happy nor sad. We simply are."

Lamb, decidedly, did not like that answer. Turning away from her companion, who was grateful for an end to the interruptions, she instead focused once more on the human. Her inquisitive nature had gotten the better of her now. She wished that he would die once more, so that she too could have such discussions with him. That was when a strange feeling ran through her body. She couldn't even begin to describe it other than a general dissatisfaction. Whatever the sensation was, she did not like it.

She watched as the woman curled up once more to go to sleep. Maybe she could show herself to the human, just for a little bit. She found herself starting to materialize, but the instant his head turned to regard her, she immediately vanished herself again. In her chest, she could feel something pounding inside. She placed her hand over the spot, feeling the alien sensation pulsing beneath her fingertips.

She was truly afraid now. She looked to her slumbering companion. Perhaps she should wake him again? No, she decided. She was intelligent, she could go to the book cart and do some research into what was happening. Part of her feared that nothing would be known, since even she was unaware of her own physiology.

Even still however, she slipped past the three and proceeded to the back of the train. "Wait." A voice called behind her, causing her to pause and turn about. Standing in the aisle was the human himself. But that was impossible! He couldn't have seen her! Taking a nervous step back, she quickly turned and fled, the sound of his footsteps echoing after her.

* * *

Our conversation over, Nidalee decided that she would return to her nap. She smiled at me, another desperate attempt to comfort me, I surmised. Despite the emptiness on the train, I could still feel the uneasy sensation of being watched, which I simply chalked up to nerves. At least, I did until there was a shift in the air across from me. Turning to regard it, I saw the dark mask of Lamb, just before her body once again became ethereal. Did this mean I was close to dying again?

Surprisingly, this time I could see a vague outline of her as she turned her head to look at what I could only assume was Wolf. Silently, she stood, stepping out into the aisle and heading towards the back of the cart. My eyes widened as a thought suddenly occurred to me: maybe it wasn't me that Kindred was after right now. If someone was in danger of dying, I had to help them.

Standing up, I pursued after Lamb. Just as the door subtlely would have slipped open, I called after her. "Wait." If I could slow her down, maybe she'd give me a chance to help whoever it was that needed it. She turned to look at me, and even though I couldn't see her face, I could feel an almost palpable anxiety coming from her.

She took a step back, before turning and fleeing through the carts. Immediately, I gave chase. "No, stop!" I called after her, sliding through the doors to find the next cart empty as well, save the shadowy figure. "Please, just wait a moment."

My voice was pleading now as the two of us continued our chase, though I could feel now in my chest that my lungs were burning and my heart was pounding. With how slow I was, I realized that my answer to their question, when the time came, was a resoundingly swift death. However, as we both came into the next car, I found that it too was empty. Kindred came to a screeching halt as she looked back at me uneasily. Why did she decide to stop running? "Why are you chasing me?" Her voice came. "How can you see me?"

Taking the opportunity to catch my breath, I shook my head as I rested my hands on my knees. "I can't…" I gasped. "Just a vague...outline." She walked closer towards me, and after looking around, fully materialized. "What was that...all about?" I asked. "If I...die from...a heart attack...after chasing...you, that doesn't...count does it?" At last, my body was able to start taking in air as normal as she shook her head.

"Your body is not nearly so frail." She replied, indicating that she wasn't aware that I was joking. "I'm sorry for fleeing. You surprised me is all. I wasn't sure how to react when you could see me while I was cloaked."

"Yeah, I got that." I replied. "What are you doing? Is there someone that's dying up ahead?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just us. Wolf is currently napping and he has indicated his displeasure in being awoken. I have questions, so I thought I'd look at the book cart to see if there are any answers to be found."

"I didn't realize an aspect of death needed to sleep." I mused. "Anyway, sorry I frightened you. I thought that someone may have needed my help. If not though, I may just go back and sit down. We still have another two hours before we reach Piltover, according to the schedule."

"Actually, would you mind accompanying me?" Lamb asked, her hands grasping mine quickly. I was surprised by the sudden gesture. "I'm not very familiar with certain things. Wolf knows far more than I do about the ways of humans. Maybe, you could help me look?"

Her normally passive voice seemed more desperate as her gaze met mine. Her unblinking nature was odd, and yet, I didn't feel that she wanted to hurt me. "Sure." I finally agreed. "I'll go with you."

Her lips curled into a slight smile beneath her mask, something that was easily expressed in her eyes. "Thank you." She replied in gratitude. As the two of us turned to head further towards the back, I cleared my throat, trying to break up the tension.

"So what is it you're looking into?" I inquired. "I mean, I may not be a 'human expert' like your brother, but I like to think I know a thing or two."

She giggled softly at this, a truly beautiful sound if ever there was one. "There are many questions I have. The first one is 'what did you do that was so awful that you judge yourself so harshly?'" I came to a sudden stop, looking at her in shock. She'd been there the entire time? "What's wrong?"

"That conversation was supposed to be private." I murmured. "Do you often just eavesdrop into discussions?"

She appeared puzzled, tilting her head slightly. "Eavesdrop?"

"It means to listen to something that was not meant for you to hear." I explained, albeit bitterly. I was not pleased with this evolvement.

Sensing this she frowned. "You're upset?"

"Yes, I'm upset!" I snapped before regaining my composure. "That conversation was supposed to be private Lamb. I didn't want anyone else to hear it."

"Why? Are you concerned that I will tell someone else?"

"No, I don't think that, but it's something I don't like talking about. I discussed it with Nidalee because I trust her, and the fact that you listened in was very rude."

She scratched her head nervously. I could sense her confusion still, which in turn confused me as well. Did she not know what I meant? "Forgive me." She whispered finally. "But I'm not sure what that means."

"What, rude?" I asked. I could sense her embarrassment under her mask as her head bobbed up and down. It made some strange sense, I supposed. Death didn't have much need for etiquette. "Well, it's difficult to explain. It's...not bad, necessarily, but it's considered annoying." She gave me another puzzled look. "Bothersome." I explained causing her eyes to light up with understanding. "Basically, it just means that you were doing something upsetting."

"Oh." She muttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

I actually believed her. "It's okay." I surrendered. "Just keep it in mind for future reference, okay? I don't mind answering questions that you have, but don't feel like you have to spy on me."

Lamb shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. "Well, I'm not supposed to actually reveal myself until it's time for someone's death." She explained. "Sometimes it happens automatically, other times I have to will it, like now. It's technically against the rules, so I can't promise I will be visible all the time. But if you want, we can develop some sort of code or sign that means you don't want me to listen. I can't guarantee Wolf will leave either, but I'll at least cover my ears."

To demonstrate, she reached up and tugged gently on her long floppy ears. I just chuckled with a nod. "Sounds good. I think it'll be better, now that I know that you're following us. But to answer your question...I really don't want to talk about it. I'm too concerned that you would judge me."

"Oh...okay." She seemed to be willing to surrender the topic as she pondered her next question. Gesturing for her to lead, the two of us began walking beside one another. "Oh! Here's another one: what does it mean when your chest starts to drum?"

"Drum?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like…" She tried to figure out a way to explain it, but she instead quickly grabbed my hand and pulled it to her breast, holding it in place. "Like this."

My cheeks turned a bright red. "L-lamb!" I protested, slipping my hand from her grip.

"What? What is it? Is something wrong with me?" She questioned, a slight panic in her voice.

"Other than being surprisingly forward, I don't think so." I retorted, my eyes going to my hand.

"What do you mean?"

I flexed my fingers, tucking my hand into my pocket before shaking my head. "It's not important."

"Did you feel it? The drumming?" Her hand went to the spot that mine had previously rested in. "I can still feel it in there. It's like it's coming from inside of me."

"What you're referring to, I gather, is your heart beat. I didn't realize you had one."

"I don't." She whimpered, her eyes falling to the ground. "I mean, I shouldn't. We are Kindred, we don't need hearts. Maybe you're mistaken. Perhaps it could be something else, some sort of illness perhaps? That would explain why I feel so warm. Maybe I contracted it because you're from a different world."

"When did you start feeling it?"

"I was watching another human." She lied. "Suddenly, I felt really warm inside, and that was when my chest started drumming again. I can't help but feel he's the one responsible for it, but at the same time, I don't think it's bad. I can't explain why I don't think that...just that I don't."

A knowing smile spread across my face as I realized what was happening. "This is actually really interesting." I commented to myself. "I think I may know what's happening, even though it sounds absolutely farfetched."

"Wh-what? Tell me!" She demanded. "I don't know what's going on and I'm...I'm…"

"Scared?" I offered. She gestured that she agreed with my guess. I could understand, I suppose. If I was an aspect of Death, I'd be hesitant to tell a human I was afraid too. "Well, the answer is simple. You've got an illness alright. You caught the love bug." Just as she appeared to panic more, I quickly calmed her down. "Woah, sorry. I was kidding. You're not sick. You've developed feelings for this human."

"No, no. That's not possible." She murmured, my attempt to calm her failing miserably. "Oh no, what am I going to tell Wolf? If he finds out he will be so upset." She tugged on her ears in panic before I quickly stopped her pacing by grabbing her shoulders. The sudden contact made her freeze and stare into my eyes. "What am I going to do?" She murmured.

"Relax, for starters." I instructed. "There's nothing wrong with having feelings Lamb. Wolf has feelings. I suspect you also have had them your whole life...death...existence. Perhaps they've just been repressed. Look, if you want, I will help you keep it from Wolf, okay?"

"But...isn't that lying?"

Now I was starting to feel flustered. "A lie of omission maybe. But...don't think of it as lying, think of it as building up confidence to tell him." I tried, though even saying the words made me feel gross inside. "Out of curiosity, who is this human anyway?"

"You don't know him." Lamb answered quickly. In truth, she felt she was right. I didn't know me, even though I always strived to learn about myself and make myself better. "But still, I don't know what to do. Part of me wants him to die so that he can stay with me and Wolf until the end of time...but the other part of me knows that's not what he wants."

I scratched my cheek in thought. "Well, I certainly agree that death is a bit extreme. For many people, they kind of view that as the final stop. Thanks again, by the way. My memories have started trickling back in, and I know you blocked out my pain for me. It was very kind of you."

Her eyes smiled through the mask. "That's the first time I've ever been told I was kind."

"Well you most certainly are." I assured her. "Come on. Let's go look at the books."

She eagerly agreed, and the two of us marched into the book cart to look around. I was actually surprised by how much literature crossed over between the worlds. It was mostly poetry that was shared, but somehow, Lamb manage to stumble upon a stack of books without an author's name on them. "I looked in the love section." She explained. "I picked out ones that stood out to me."

"Can you really read all of those books in two hours?"

She beamed. "Time doesn't work the same way for me as it does for humans. If I wanted to, I could read this entire library before the end of our conversation. But, part of the reason I like to read is to pass the time, and while I can make it go slower, faster isn't really an option."

"Why is that?" I wondered.

She smiled. "Going to the past is easy. It's set in stone. No matter what happens, nothing will change. The future, however, is a complete mystery. Not even we know what will happen tomorrow."

It was then that an awe-inspiring thought occurred to me. Maybe Kindred was more human than I realized. They of course were immortal beings of death, but at the same time, they knew as little as we did. Would there come a day when they too died? What would await them after that? What happens if one of them falls in love? All of them are questions that I was certain plagued Lamb. "If you want my advice," I finally offered, "I think you should tell this human you have feelings for. Everyone deserves to be happy, even aspects of Death. He may not feel the same way, but at least you'll find some closure, one way or another."

She looked sheepishly at me. "Umm...Josh, can I...give you something?"

"Sure." I replied, unsure of what to expect. Setting the books down on the counter behind her, I was surprised to see that the titles matched some of my fanfiction. As my eyes were drawn from them to her with a gentle beckoning, I watched as her hands went to either side of her face, taking her mask. With a soft tug, it came free, and for the first time I gazed upon the face of Death.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Manifesto Ch. 6

Lamb reached to her mask, slowly lowering it from her face so that I could gaze upon it. I took a sharp breath. She was stunningly beautiful. That was the first thought that reached my mind when I looked upon her features. "This is the first time a human has seen me without my mask." She explained, her eyes like sapphire blue flames.

Because of her mask, I'd always assumed her face would be more animalistic, but it was, in fact, surprisingly human. I couldn't help myself from walking closer to look more closely. Most would have felt alienated from the way I was gawking, but somehow Lamb didn't mind. It was as if she were expecting this reaction. My entire body was trembling. Somehow her beauty was unbelievably unsettling: a strange mix between adoration and fear.

My hand reached slowly upwards, unable to stop shaking. I expected her to slap it away, possibly even shoot me, but I couldn't stop. Instead, I was surprised when she stepped closer, taking my hand in hers and placing it on her cheek to nuzzle against it. "This has to be a dream." I muttered to myself, causing her to smile. Her smile! Just looking upon it caused me to practically melt.

"So...I am not unattractive?" Was she...blushing? Do aspects of death even blush?!

I couldn't help but approach her even more, the two of us now only inches from one another, our eyes unable to look anywhere else but into one anothers. What was happening to me? I refused to do this to Remy, I wouldn't. Besides, Kindred just found out she had a crush on someone else, I doubted she would be fond of an advance. "You're…" I hesitated, trying to come up with a word that fit. Beautiful? Gorgeous? Cute? All of them seemed so trivial in comparison to how she really looked. Finally, the word came to me, and I couldn't deny that it was indeed the right one. "Perfect."

One of her arms reached towards the side of my cheek, mirroring my own pose. "That is kind of you to say." She answered. "I don't think anyone has ever told me that I was such before. I have been called many things by many people. Monster. Demon. Devil. Once I was even called a prostituted woman."

My mind reeled at the cruel words that she uttered, and as if possessed, I wrapped my arms around her, drawing her protectively into an embrace. She didn't struggle, she didn't even resist. Instead what emitted from her sounded almost like a low purr. "They were wrong." I whispered.

Her blush deepened even more, her normally pale, porcelain-like features turning a rosy pink. "You do not find me frightening?"

"Of course not."

"I feel...strange." She muttered, and for a moment I was concerned.

"What do you mean?"

Lamb considered it for a moment before finally replying, "It's like a bell."

"A bell?"

She nodded. "It's a beautiful sound. I can feel it calling me from somewhere that's near, and yet...so very far. In a way, it's painful, because I want to keep it for myself. But if I have it, then that means that Wolf or someone else may take it away." Gazing up at me, she seemed almost like a lost child in the woods, trying to find her way home. "Please help me."

I thought about it for a moment before answering. "Maybe you feel happy?" I tried. "People feel happy when things are going good for them, and for some it's easier than most. If I had to guess, you probably don't feel like this often, simply because of who you are."

"Happy?" She tested the word. It felt strange on her lips and she furrowed her brow in thought. "Is it you that makes me happy?"

My heart thumped hard in my chest. Could it be me? No, that didn't make any sense to me. Why would I be the one that made her happy? "I don't know." I answered honestly. "Happiness is weird because it's up to you to find out what makes you happy. I can empathize with you, but I can't tell you why you are that way."

"Empathize? I am learning many new words today." She giggled, a chilling laugh that ran along my nerves with a pleasurable tingling.

"You're not used to emotions...are you?"

She shook her head, parting from my embrace, despite my reluctance to release her. "Wolf knows much more about such things than I do." She explained. "I ask him often, but sometimes I don't understand what he says. Not like you, at least. Do you mind if I ask you questions?"

I beamed at her. "That! That's empathy."

"Questions?"

"No, the question you asked. You asked if I minded, which means you took my feelings into concern."

"Is that not polite?"

"It's plenty polite. You're a polite person, Lamb. But I honestly think you _are_ changing. You're developing and learning to think and feel like humans do."

The grimace she wore stung hard. Something was weighing heavily on her, I could feel it. "Are you sure?"

I stroked her cheek affectionately, causing her to look up at me in surprise. "There's nothing wrong with changing. Kindred may be eternal, but time changes all things." She didn't seem convinced. "Think like this: do you remember the first time you read a book?"

"Yes. It was very long ago."

"Well, before that point you'd never read a book before. You did something different, and look at what you found. You've come to enjoy reading, it's something that brings you happiness, even if it doesn't come with the fear that it can be taken. What would you do if Wolf took away your books?"

"Wolf is going to take my books?"

"No, hypothetically speaking."

She thought about it for another moment. "I would ask him why he did such a thing. I'd explain to him how valuable books can be. I think he'd give them back."

"And if he didn't agree and got rid of them anyway?"

"I...I don't know…" She stammered. It was obvious that she did not like not knowing the answer to that question. "Why don't I know?"

I nuzzled against her, causing her to reciprocate, her long floppy ears soft like velvet. "It's called being sad. It's the opposite of happiness, but at the same time it can be good too." Her eyes wouldn't leave mine as we stood there in one another's arms. "Because sadness brings comfort and comfort brings happiness."

"I see." She muttered. "This is all so very confusing."

"Yes. I suppose it is. Emotions are always confusing, even for those of us who are used to them. Sometimes things we don't want to make us happy, do. Other times we'll find ourself unable to overcome a crippling sadness. It's not something you can turn on and off."

She closed her eyes in thought, her brow furrowing cutely. "Do I make you happy?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to the question. When I looked at her, I felt...something. Something strong and fierce welling up in my chest, but I loved Remy, I could never admit to myself that I loved someone else as well. "I am happy to have met you." I tried instead, causing her to smile brightly once more. I was very glad that she took such a response from me. "So," I continued, trying to change the subject, "what kind of books did you get?"

She covered her mouth to stifle another giggle. "I already told you that. They're books on 'love', or so I saw on the counter. To be honest, it's odd. I haven't read every book in existence, but I at least know the names of most of them. But these ones, I picked them because I'd never even heard of them before. Is that not curious?"

Running my fingers along the spines, I began to grow cold as I read each one's title to myself. Smoothest of Criminals. Magic of a Young Girl's Heart. Sound & Fury. A Glimpse of Shining Starfire. These were all of my stories!

Noticing my expression, Lamb cocked her head slightly to the side. "Oh, do you know them? I noticed that they didn't have an author on the cover."

After a moment, I looked into her perfect face again, my chest rising and falling nervously. "That's because I'm the one who wrote them." I muttered. She seemed curious and so she flipped through the pages of the one marked 'Manifesto', the one title I didn't recognize.

"After a moment, I looked into her perfect face again," she read out loud, "my chest rising and falling nervously. 'That's because I'm the one who…'" Her words trailed off as she quickly flipped back a few pages. Oh God, was this book one that was following me now?!

"Lamb, wait!" I called, but she simply gave me a sly and eerie smile. Taking a moment to flip to the end of the book, she smiled even brighter before closing it and hugging it tightly to her chest. "What? What did you read?" I demanded.

"I'm not allowed to say." She smartly replied. "Can you bring those other books with you? I want to read them as well."

As she brushed past me, she paused for a moment before turning back around and placing a soft kiss on my cheek. The feeling was indescribably pleasurable, to the point where it brought me to my knees when they caved in beneath me. Instead of helping me up, however, she simply slid her mask back in place and sauntered out of the cart. What in the hell was that? Grasping the counter, I shakily got back to my feet. I scooped up the books, hurrying to follow her so that I could question her more. As soon as the door slid open, however, I found the cart to be completely empty save for Nidalee who still slept peacefully.

I looked around franticly. Where had Lamb gone off to? A loud noise behind me made me jump, and when I turned back around, I could see the book cart slowly trailing away from us. Someone had disconnected the car? I slowly made my way to my seat, sinking into it in shock. I still held the books in my lap, unable to process what was going on. "K-kiba?" Nidalee groaned beside me, her eyes opening partially to regard me curiously.

"Still not Kiba." I muttered under my breath, staring intently at the seat across from me. Maybe if I focused hard enough, I'd be able to see her. Extending my hand, I brushed through the air in front of me.

The huntress was becoming concerned now as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"N-nothing." I lied, lowering my hands. If Lamb was there, it'd seem that she wasn't able to be touched while invisible. There were so many questions that I had, and not enough answers to fill them. Why did Lamb and Wolf wear their masks? What the hell did she do to me when she kissed me like that? Why did she only take that book and disappear? My knee began to bounce up and down, as it usually did when I was nervous or deep in thought. It was a bad tick, and if I focused hard enough I could control it, but unfortunately I doubted that I'd be able to find any semblance of my medication in Runeterra. I grimaced at the realization. "Oh shit." I muttered.

"What? What is it?"

"We need to get off this train. Now!" I shouted, standing up and grabbing her hands, much to her surprise.

"K-kiba! What is the matter with you?" She protested, pulling her hand away from my grip, just as a lancing pain ran through my back. It was so fierce that it drove me to all fours as I whimpered in pain. "Kiba, what's wrong?"

"How far until Piltover?" I hissed.

She looked around for something to judge where we were. Finding the the map she gently ran her finger along it just as the train came to a halt. "We're...ummm...here."

"That's good." I groaned, trying to stand again, and found myself unable to. "So there's good news, here's the bad...Nid, I'm going to need you to carry me to an apothecary or an alchemist."

"A what or a what?"

"Doctor Nidalee! I need a doctor!" I screamed causing her to flinch before shakily coming to my side.

"Okay." She calmly whispered to me, lifting me on to her back with surprising strength. "You'll be alright. Just tell me where to go."

"I don't know." I admitted finally. "I've no idea where things are in Piltover, I just make up street names after random machine parts."

"Well, then guess!"

"Corner of Sprocket and Flywheel?" I suggested.

* * *

"Wolf." Lamb urged her brother, nudging him with her foot. "Wake up. Something amazing has happened."

"What? Has the human finally kicked the bucket?" He groaned, stirring. As his eyes opened, they fell upon the boy struggling to walk. "Well, I can sense he at least wishes partially that he was."

"Dear Wolf, I need you to focus for a moment. We will not be collecting this one."

"What?" He snarled. "Lamb, you can't be…" She thrust the book in his face, to the particular page she'd found. Wolf's eyes focused as they quickly trailed through the words, each sentence causing his eyes to widen more. "No." He muttered.

"Yes."

"No! That's not possible!" He barked, baring his fangs. "Little Lamb, you and I have discussed such things before…"

"This is _not_ a work of fiction, dearest Wolf. This book tells the future. I've seen it."

"That's not possible." He growled. "If it were that would mean that every choice that is made by the humans we capture is…"

"Predetermined. Yes. It would seem that is the case."

"So every chase…"

"Planned."

"Every chaotic hunt…"

"Orchestrated in detail."

"But...but…" Wolf for the first time in a long time began to whimper. "But that's not fair! How am I supposed to enjoy the chase if I already know I'm going to win?! I mean, I know I'm faster than any human can possibly be, but I can't believe you'd just shatter my denial."

Lamb's lips curled into a soft smile behind her dark mask. "Not _every_ human, dearest Wolf."

His eyes widened. "You mean…"

She nodded her head once more. "There is one human who can escape your jaws. I can not tell you more, but I'd recommend continuing on your chases as you typically have. Who knows, perhaps you'll find the human soon?" Just then the boy slammed his fist on the ground and shouted loudly at the huntress, causing Lamb's smile to fade quickly. "Believe me, dear Wolf, you are not the only one who is changed by this book. Things will change very soon, for both of us."

"We do _not_ change." He argued. "We cannot change."

"And yet," Lamb replied, "we've already started." She ran her hand through her brothers coarse fur, the look of worry still under her mask as the two humans hurried off the train.

* * *

A few minutes later, Nidalee and I were staring up at a large medical complex. "Well I'll be damned." I muttered. "I mean, I knew I was lucky but this…" I winced again. "Never mind, screw that sentiment! Take me inside quickly!"

Placing me in a wheelchair, Nidalee pushed me inside where the nurse waited expectantly at his desk. "Name?" He asked, before looking over his clipboard at me. "Oh! Kiba, it's you. I didn't realize you were coming back in for a check-up so soon. How's the arm treating you?"

Nidalee smirked smugly, but I shook my head. "I'm not Kiba. I get that a lot. I'm a new patient."

"You'll have to fill out the paperwork."

"No time." I argued. "I need 2,000 units of acetaminophen and 50 units of hydrocone, now!"

"Look buddy, just because you come in here demanding."

Through my pain, I reached forward and grabbed him by the collar in a fury. "Listen to me you son of a bitch, right now I'm about five seconds away from asking my friend here to slice your face up, so give me the damned pills!"

"Kiba, kiba!" Nidalee protested, pulling my hands away from him and causing him to breathe heavily in fear as his trembling hand went to signal security, just before she signaled for him to stop. "Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it." She instructed, her eyes staring deep into mine.

"I...I can't say. It's embarrassing." I muttered.

"It's either that or you get thrown out of the hospital." She pointed out. "You'd have to tell them anyway, so you may as well tell me."

I looked away from her with a huff. "Kidney stones."

"What?"

"Bitch, I piss rocks!" I snarled as more pain raced through me. "Sorry, I didn't mean that." I panted. "I'm just in a lot of pain right now. I've had them since I was 12, if I don't take my meds it can make them fall into my system and it's about the same pain as giving birth, so please, dear God, get me some pain pills."

She took a deep breath before placing her hands on my shoulders. "Kiba," she whispered to me, "I'm really sorry about this." I barely had time to ask her what she meant before arching my back. So much pain was running through my body that I wished that I would fall unconscious so I wouldn't have to endure it, but alas the agony continued.

"H-hey, what are you doing to him?" The nurse asked, but Nidalee ignored him, channeling more of her magic into me.

I couldn't even scream, my body was in so much pain, until finally she pulled her hands from causing me to sink back into the chair, my chest heaving immensely. I quickly rolled out of the chair and crawled to a trash can before throwing up into it. "What the hell did you do to me?!" I demanded, just before another wave of vomit erupted from me.

"I...fixed it." She stammered, tapping her fingers together nervously. "Does it hurt anymore?"

Wiping the sweat that had beaded up on my forehead, I closed my eyes to feel the pain fade away. "N-no. It's gone." I sighed, causing the nurse to look between the both of us confused. "Sorry about that." I apologized. "We'll be leaving now." As we began to leave, I stopped for a moment and turned back to the guy. "Before I go, I do need to ask one tiny favor. I need to know where I can get my hands on some Potassium Citrate."

"There's some over the counter supplements downstairs." He explained shakily.

"Understood. Thanks again." I waved, leaving the frightened man behind as we stepped outside. I took a moment, glancing down at my feet. "Hey Nidalee, I'm really sorry for what I said in there earlier...I was just…"

"It's alright." She interrupted, hugging me gently. "I'm just glad you're not in pain anymore. I was really worried."

"How did you do that anyway?" I asked, pressing back against her. "Wait, don't tell me...magic of the wilds?"

"So you remember."

"I remember writing it and using it as an excuse for anything you're able to pull off." I teased.

"Yeah, you're fine." She laughed, releasing me. "So where to now? You said you thought you knew someone who could help you get back?"

I nodded. "We're looking for a guy by the name of Ezreal. He's about seventeen years old, but he's super smart. He's the Grandmaster Explorer of Piltover. If I'm right, he should be in his office wrapping up some of the case files on Kal's defeat of Magnus."

"I see. Well, do you mind if we also visit my friend?" She asked, giving me a sly grin. "I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you."

"We've been over this." I tried. "You're not going to trip me up. I'm not Kiba, my name is Josh. Look, I have proof! Kiba's arm is metal right? He lost it when you were both attacked by Anna." I held up my left arm. "See? No metal."

"Kiba's arm is also made of a special kind of metal that looks and feels like real flesh." She pointed out. "So showing it to me doesn't make much of a difference. Unless you want to go back into that hospital and ask that nurse for an x-ray."

"You know what an x-ray is but you didn't know where to buy milk?" I asked skeptically.

"I've had to get medical treatment after League matches."

"That sounds like a copout." I muttered to myself before realizing just who would have wrote such a thing and turning a bright red. "Anyway, let's stop talking about this. I need to get to that pharmacy."

"What's that all about anyway?"

I took a deep breath. "Alright, this is going to be some heavy medical mumbojumbo. Basically, since I was 12, my body has overproduced a chemical compound in my system. When it gets to my kidneys it crystallizes into 'kidney stones' that stick into the walls of my kidneys. Potassium Citrate lowers that production of the compound so the stones are smaller so they stay on my kidney better. But if I stop taking it, it can cause the one's already there to start becoming bigger so they fall into my urinary tract. Like I said, it's embarrassing."

Nidalee shrugged. "The average male cat suffers from testicular torsion as it grows older. I'm not too shy when it comes to such things."

"Right…"

Soon after leaving the pharmacy, I found where Nidalee told me she'd be waiting. She was absently flipping through a book. Looking closer, I found 'Grinding of the Gears' to be the title, and immediately I rushed over to shut it. On her eyes was a look of shock as she stared up at me. "What are you…?"

"Nidalee! You can't read that!"

"Why not?" She demanded. "It was just getting good." The way she wiggled uncomfortably in her seat made me realize just where she was in the book.

"Don't you get it? If you read the book, you will learn about the future. Which means that if you do anything you could change what's supposed to happen!"

She folded her arms over her chest with a huff. "Well, what if I'm the reason it happens? Maybe I have to know so that I can make it that way."

"That's not how this works!" I argued, pulling my hand from the book with a sigh. "Look. If you want to talk to Kiba, go do that. But not a word about me or what's written in that book, understand?"

"Fine. But you're coming with me. I don't want you going and changing clothes or something trying to trick me." She latched onto my arm, nuzzling against my shoulder as we walked down the street. "By the way, how will I know where he...I mean you...are?"

I could tell that her question was really just a way for her to continue looking at the book. "You're the expert tracker. You tell me." I protested, causing her to frown at me.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"I said, 'No.'"

She swept in front of me, looking up at me with her big adorable eyes. "Pwease?" She mewed, acting as cute as possible. I sighed, handing her the book.

"Fine. But not a page past the point when we entered the city. You should be able to track the days since you left." I groaned, causing her to cheerfully begin pouring through it. I figured it wouldn't cause any harm for her to see what's happened since she left, so long as she didn't find out anything about the future. I was terribly, terribly wrong.

"Found it!" She declared excitedly. "According to this he's at Orianna's house, sitting on the doorstep." I rubbed my chin in thought for a moment. Did these books even have the endings I planned for them? I didn't remember writing that part yet.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways." I tried, but she hadn't forgotten our earlier conversation as she dragged me through the streets. The smug grin on her face indicated the excitement at the prospect of discovering my 'secret identity', up until the point where she turned the corner to see him there.

Immediately, her grip loosened, the fabric of my shirt trailing through her fingers as she stared at him in awe. "But...I…" She turned to regard me, unable to fathom what was happening. "I don't...then who…"

"I tried to tell you." I whispered. "I'm not Kiba. I'm just another version of him from another world. If it's all the same though, if I were you, I'd probably wish I was him, too." She covered her mouth, trying to hide the pain in her eyes. "Nidalee…"

"I'm fine." She muttered, resting her back against the wall. "Can I go talk to him?"

"I suppose there's nothing wrong with saying 'Hello'."

She smiled softly and ran her fingers along my cheek before running towards him. My eyes fell on to The Grinding of the Gears as she set it down, the wind blowing the pages apart to rest where events were currently taking place. I began to read it, just as the words started to fade away.

I quickly slammed it shut, looking around the corner frantically to see Nidalee searching around herself. A dark feeling began to sink over me, and Nidalee seemed to feel it too as she spoke with Kiba. His gaze went past her towards me, but I quickly ducked away. Had he seen me?

I could hear her telling him to release her, just as a loud crack of thunder rang out above us. I looked up, only to find that the sky was perfectly clear. What in the world was that? As she came around the corner, she looked up at me. "Something is wrong." She gasped.

"Yes, I can tell." I replied. "What did you tell him?!"

"I told him about Orianna being mad at him for talking to Caitlyn."

"You did what?!" I snapped. "Do you know what you could have…"

I was interrupted by a high pitched scream. Without a word, the two of us ran full speed in the direction of it. Was someone hurt? I couldn't begin to even think about what was happening, until I came to a halt in front of the Sheriff's office.

"No." I mumbled. "No, no, no...this can't be right!" I began to nervously back away just as Nidalee looked at the gruesome scene. Caitlyn knelt there as Thane scanned the area in a seething rage.

"Please. Please don't do this." Caitlyn begged to someone as I shot Nidalee a glare. I had no doubt that it was her actions that caused this. Running to the detectives side, I froze my eyes locking on to the limp figure that she was huddled over.

"This is what I meant! You were the one who did this!"

"I...I…"

My eyes went to Thane who was beginning to fade into the winds, as if he'd never existed at all. But how could...my eyes turned back in shock. The person Caitlyn leaned over was Vi, a large hole pouring blood through her chest where it ran to the ground into a crimson pool below. I sank to my knees as the realization struck me hard. Vi was dead. If she was dead, there could be no more Smoothest of Criminals. If there was no more Smoothest of Criminals, then...Thane would never have existed.

As the shock continued to develop, I felt myself losing balance and the world began to spin around me. As I found myself tumbling downward into nothing, I could see Nidalee staring down over me, just before darkness completely closed my view.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Manifesto Ch. 7

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry it's taken so long. I've been very sick lately. Stupid cold. I'm starting to feel a little better, but I'd like to take a moment to explain to everyone some of the events surrounding this chapter. Everything about my life, as I've mentioned in previous chapters, is true in Manifesto. It is taking a lot of my courage to share some of these things with you guys. There are things in here that I've never mentioned to anyone in my life, ever. That being said, if you have any questions, I don't mind answering them. I do ask, however, that you be respectful in your manner of asking them. Don't worry if you're unsure whether or not you're being rude, I'll politely let you know if I feel so. For the sake of privacy, I won't mention names, but I've had a reader who shared a similar experience. My point is, there is no judgment from me. I've found that letting this out has really helped me, so if you want to get anything off your chest you can tell me knowing that I won't share it with anyone. Sometimes it makes all the difference in the world. Best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

I hovered there in the darkness, my body writhing left and right as I tried to make sense of it all. "Taking naps again, human?" Lamb asked. This time, I kept my eyes shut. I didn't want to open them, I didn't want to look at anything.

"Please." I pleaded. "The arrow. Please."

There was a silence as she hovered above me. "Lamb." Wolf stated, but she didn't say anything. "He's made his choice."

"It's not his turn to make his choice." She argued, causing me to begin to cry.

"Please." I repeated.

"Why do you want to die?" She asked, her voice taking a tone of irritation. "It isn't your turn to die yet, so why do you leap so quickly to a choice?"

"What do you care?" I protested blithely. "Just shoot me with your stupid arrow. If you won't do that, give it to me and I'll do it myself."

"No."

"Lamb!" Wolf snarled.

"Do it!"

"No. I won't do it. It's not your time and I won't take you until it is. I don't care what you want or what you think is right, you are not dying today. Not by my arrow."

"Then I will!" Her brother growled, rushing towards where I lay, but something stopped him, keeping him from sinking his fangs into my throat like I wished. "What trickery is this?!" He cried, turning towards Lamb. "Is this your doing as well, Lamb?!"

"No," she commented, "it is because you forget yourself, dearest Wolf. You are allowed to chase and only chase. He does not flee, thus you do not chase."

He growled lowly, turning back to me. "If you want to die human, I suggest you get up and run. That is the only way I will be able to reap your soul. Run!"

"It is not so simple." She stated, coming to my other side. "It is obvious, in his current state he wishes to die. Thus, even if he were to run, it would be false. There would be no chase, and you would still not be able to reap him."

"Why?" I asked, my eyes finally opening to regard her. "Why won't you just let me die? You were going to reap me before, why won't you do it now?"

"It is not your time."

"And who are you to judge when it is or isn't my time?!" I demanded, managing to slowly sit up, despite my previous inability to move. She didn't seem surprised by this however, simply staring at me through her mask. "You may reap my soul but you don't get to make that decision for me!"

There was a loud ringing in the air as her hand slammed across the side of my face. A silence befell the group, her slap seemingly making the entire universe still. "You do _not_ control me!" She hissed. Never before had I seen her show so much emotion. "You are not the master of your own fate, no one is! You do not get to control when I come for you, I come for you when I decide to! You cannot stop me from reaping you and you cannot make me reap you, until I decide one way or the other. Countless souls have laid where you have, begging me to release them back to their world. They wished to get back to their lives, to the wars they fought, and to the people they loved! I took them without even batting an eye, because it was their time, and I will _not_ take someone from their life before it is their time for the same Gods damned reason! I am Lamb! I am the swift arrow of Death and I do not fire on any one's command, mortal or otherwise!" Her hand shot out, grabbing me by the front of my shirt and pulling me close to her face so I was staring into her perfect eyes that sent a chill through my body. "You _**must**_ live! Now you know that Wolf cannot reap you and that I will not do so until it is truly your time to die, no matter how much you rush towards it. I will ensure you feel every single bit of pain from every foolish attempt on your own life, so don't even think about trying it." She shoved me hard to the ground, causing me to lay there whimpering as angry tears poured from my eyes. "We claim everyone. From the most important King to the lowliest of peasants, no one escapes us. You will be claimed, but it will not be before I say so, do I make myself clear, human?"

"Why are you doing this to me?" I sobbed.

She reached up to her mask, going to remove it as her brother watched in shock. "Lamb, what are you doing?!"

"Silence brother." She commanded, once more enthralling me with her beauty. "Why are _you_ doing this? You are acting as a child."

"People are dead because of me." I replied, unable to take my eyes from her. "I wrote those stupid books, and because I let someone read them people are dead."

Lamb looked over her shoulder at the scene unfolding behind her. "You blame yourself? Yet, not only moments ago you told the woman that it was all her fault."

"What killed me anyway?" I asked, ignoring her comment.

She smiled. "Nothing. I pulled you here."

"Why?" I asked. "I don't understand. Why do you do any of it?"

"There are things you need to know. Some of which I can tell you, some of it...I'd rather keep secret." The last part she added brought a light tinge of rosy pink to her cheeks. "Just know that, this world wouldn't exist without you."

I sighed softly, shaking my head. "You're wrong. I didn't...I didn't create any of this. If anything, I just added a few people to it. Not even very many."

She placed her hand on my cheek, silencing me with her deep gaze. "Even one person can change the entire universe. Isn't that what you always tell your students? Every life, no matter how insignificant it may seem, makes an impact on the world in ways you can't even see."

My eyes fell to the ground as my hand rested on her's. "It's not the same."

"How so?" I couldn't answer her.

"How did you even know I was a teacher, anyway?"

"That book of yours has a lot of interesting information about you." She explained. "You're a teacher. You teach every subject, but specialize in math. You work for a private school for children with social disorders like Asperger's, Tourette's, and Autism."

"We call them 'quirky'. It's less offensive." I muttered under my breath.

"You yourself have Asperger's, though it's so mild, most don't even realize you have it." She continued. "Your favorite holiday is Valentine's Day. Your favorite animal is a fox." Her lips curled into a grin. How did she memorize all of these things. "You've got a nearly photographic memory, able to recall events with pristine detail after decades, even if seemingly unimportant. The person you respect most is your boss, more so than any other person."

"You can stop now." I murmured.

"Your favorite champion in the League, despite what most would guess, is actually Caitlyn, because you feel like you can really relate to her, since before you were a teacher you wanted to be a detective. You like Ahri because she's a fox, and Orianna is who you're best with. Even still, you struggle with your own skill in the game because you feel that you have to somehow compete with your own writing by having an equal level of ability in the game."

"STOP!" I shouted, causing her to fall silent. "I get it, okay? You know everything about me. Every thought, every trivial tidbit you could possibly know. But that doesn't mean you know me, all right? Those are all just tiny shards of who I am. So yes, you may think that things look good on the outside. Maybe I'm just a whiney brat who has too many good things going for him and the fact that I'm depressed so often is silly and dumb! Do you think I really don't realize how good I have it? That just adds to it and makes it worse."

She crossed her legs under her to sit beside me looking up to Wolf who just sat there frustrated. "Wolf, please give us a moment." She requested.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm leaving."

"Fine, then keep quiet." She looked deep into my eyes and then uttered the one secret I'd kept to myself for my entire life. "When you were thirteen years old, you felt a sexual attraction towards your own sister who was just three years younger than you." My blood ran ice cold as I froze. "One night, you snuck into her room because you knew that she slept in next to nothing and you were curious. You didn't touch her, but the realization that you had acted so impulsively on those urges is what has haunted you your entire life. Worse, you know the fact that I'm saying all of this now means that every word has been written and possibly released to the entire world." I was speechless, I couldn't even begin to speak as she placed her hands on my shoulder. "The urges left you after less than a year, but even still you have nightmares about it. You worry that inside there's actually a monster that if you don't keep completely in check, will hurt many innocent people."

"How did you…?"

"Hush." She commanded, putting a finger to my lips. "Just listen for another moment." When I fell silent once more, she took a deep breath. "I know that you're scared. The people that you rely on most to give you your self-worth are one's you've never even met, but even still you fear that if they knew what happened to you they'd reject you forever. All of the happiness that you felt when you first started writing would be gone in the blink of an eye, just like you."

"Why are you doing this?!" I snapped again as tears streamed from my face. "Do you find the things I fear most to be some sort of joke? Why are you saying all this if you know that others will see it?"

"Because, now you're free." Lamb explained. "All of the things you've kept inside for over a decade are out, and even though you couldn't find the courage to say them outloud, now that someone else has done so you can finally be free again. That's the point of Manifesto." She took out the book, holding it up for me. "I've read it." She continued. "Over and over again, from start to finish until I memorized every single word. Every twist and turn in your mind, I know exactly what happens. I'm not changing it, not a single bit, because I know how it ends, and believe me it's the best of endings that you could possibly hope for."

My eyes slowly drifted from her to the silent Wolf. "Does he…?"

"No. Only I have read it, and that's how it will stay." She explained. "At least, until you reach the end. Have courage, Josh. You're not a monster. A monster doesn't care if it hurts anyone. The fact that you fear such...it means you truly do care about what happens to those around you. That in itself is what redeems your soul."

"But Vi…"

"Is in Manifesto as well. Just do what you know you should do. Follow your instincts, just like you always have, and you'll fix this. Nidalee was meant to read the book. This wasn't an accident that caused the adventures you created to be destroyed, it's the start of one of your own."

"What do you have to do with this?"

"You'll figure it out." She replied with a smile. "Now then...get up. Dust yourself off. You've got people counting on you and you will _not_ let them down, understand?" Her hands went to my shirt, straightening it before she leaned in and placed another mind numbing kiss on my cheek. "You've got this. Go get them."

And that was it. I took a sharp breath, my body returning to the normal stream of time as I quickly took Nidalee's hand. "Follow my lead." I whispered to her, causing her to glance at me in shock as I walked towards Caitlyn.

"K-kiba?" The detective asked in surprise, turning to regard me in confusion. "What are you…?"

"No time." I interrupted. "Grab Vi, I know where we have to take her if you want to save her life." I looped an arm under hers and pulled her to her feet. She was surprisingly heavy, so I reached over and disengaged her gloves, causing them to fall with a clank. "Well?" I asked, causing the Sheriff to shakily grab her deputy and repeat the process on her other side.

"I don't understand." Caitlyn muttered. "She's already dead."

"If you believed that, you wouldn't be helping me move her." I shot back. "Nidalee, close her wounds."

"Kiba, she's gone." The huntress protested. "Even if I patch the holes in her body, I can't restore her life."

"Nid, just do it!" I snapped, causing her to flinch. "I don't blame you for this, okay? Just fix the holes. She may be dead, but that doesn't mean she has to stay that way. We need to move her to someone I know can help, but in order to do that we can't have her bleeding all over the place."

* * *

Lamb grinned as she watched the human bustle about, shouting commands to the two puzzled women. "You should let me read that book. It'd make your plans make a lot more sense." Wolf grumbled in protest. "And why did you take off your mask?"

"The book says you don't read it, thus you cannot read it. Nothing can afford to be changed." She explained. "As for the mask...it's a symbol."

"Of course. A symbol of our kinship."

She shook her head. "Not for him. When I take off my mask, it's to show him that I am not hiding anything from him. We all wear masks, Dearest Wolf. Taking them off is one of the most challenging and intimate actions in the world."

He let out a low growl of frustration. "And that one?" He asked, nodding to the soul of the recently deceased deputy that sat in stasis. "Any reason you're keeping that woman from making the choice, or is it simply because the book told you?"

"Why is it dear Wolf, that you doubt me so?"

"Perhaps because it is how much you continue to change. You are not behaving as yourself, little Lamb...and it frightens me. How long until you finally decide to change enough to leave me?"

"I stand by what I've always said. We are Kindred, we are eternal. I will never leave you Wolf. That does not mean, however, that I can't bring someone else to us." She explained.

Wolf considered it for a moment, swirling around his sister in thought. "So, do you truly think he is not a monster?"

"Truly, I do." She replied, scratching him beneath his chin. "His life has not been easy, but he knows that. He also knows that there are others who have it much harder than he does, so he tries to stay grateful for what he's been given." Wolf's tongue lolled out as Lamb replaced her mask over her face. "We ourselves are fortunate, Wolf. We have the one thing he does not."

"What is that, Little Lamb?"

"Family."

* * *

The train once more rattled along the tracks. We were in Piltover for all of two hours before I found myself on the way to the next destination. It was not what I had in mind when I stepped off earlier that day. Now, I knew that Lamb had Manifesto, that mysterious book that I could only assume was written by myself. "So, if you're not Kiba, who are you?" The Sheriff suddenly asked, causing me to sit up with a start.

"I told you, it's not important. Just know that I'm a friend."

"As my 'friend', you should know that I don't like being kept in the dark."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

I looked over to Nidalee who sat, chin perched in hand staring glumly out the window. She still probably felt like crap after the things I'd said to her. Draped in my lap was Vi, arms crossed over her chest like she was laying in a casket. At first, I didn't want her arms position that way, but even still, her knuckled had began to become scraped from the train's movement. "In a sense, I am Kiba. I'm just Kiba from a different world." I finally explained, causing Nidalee's ear to twitch as she tried to slyly gaze in my direction.

When our eyes met, however, she quickly turned back again as if to pretend that she hadn't noticed. "A different world? Tell me, what does this world of yours call itself? Runeterra 2?" Caitlyn chuckled.

"Earth." I stated plainly. "Specifically, I'm from the country known as the United States of America. In my world, there is no magic or hextech. Just guns and explosives really."

"So tell me then, Kiba of Earth, why bring yourself to our world? Surely you didn't come all this way to save my friend."

I didn't respond. I hadn't even given more thought as to _how_ I came here, much less why. "I'm not sure." I finally answered. "I just fell asleep, then woke up here. I've already died twice so far, so I know that it's not a dream."

"You've died twice?" She asked skeptically. "You look pretty healthy for a man twice dead."

"I figured you wouldn't believe me." I pointed out. "You always were the skeptical one." My fingers went to rest in Vi's hair, but with a click, I found Caitlyn's rifle pointed at my nose in warning. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt her."

"I don't want you disrespecting her body. Let's say I do believe that you care enough to help her and that you can. How do I know that you're not going to do something sick and twisted to her mind in order to bend her to your whim?"

I gently reached up and brushed the barrel from my face. "She's not mine to have." I replied, causing Nidalee to glance my way once more. "I hope he is not already gone from your memories."

"Who?"

"Thane." I replied. "He was Vi's lover. You hired him as a second deputy after Vi nearly pulled a warehouse down on top of herself."

"I-I've never had a second deputy." Caitlyn protested.

I smiled weakly at her. "You did. You just can't remember. Vi wasn't supposed to die. She was meant to stay alive with you and Thane. But when she died, Thane stopped existing because she was the only reason he did in the first place."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"In my world, this one is fictional. Imagine if you got pulled into a book or a movie. You'd have thought it fake, even though the people you met inside of it seemed real and well detailed. I've learned all too quickly that your world is just as real as mine. The only difference is, the stories I wrote about your world in my own are true. Thane was a character I created. When Vi died, the story I wrote for him could never have happened, so he disappeared." I reached for the Sheriff's hand, grasping it. "I know this all sounds insane. You've every right not to believe me. That's why I have to bring Vi back. If she comes back to life, Thane's story can still happen and he'll come back too."

Caitlyn tugged her hand from mine with a frown. "If it helps, I'm sorry about your friend." She softly whispered. "I know that if the people Vi cared about suddenly forgot he existed, I'd be upset too."

"Thank you for that. I'm sorry about Kiba."

She looked at me in shock. "K-kiba's…?"

"No!" I quickly declared. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to imply that he was...no, Kiba is just fine. Right now, he's on the way to the prison to speak with Viktor. I meant for the other thing."

"Other thing?" She asked.

"The ice rink." I explained simply, causing her to look down at her feet.

"How did you know about that?"

"I told you, I wrote it."

She shot me a pissed off glare. "You wrote that? So it's your fault that I made such an idiot of myself?"

"I told you, I didn't realize that this world was a real one. To me, you were just a fictional character. I doubt it helps, but I really do believe that there is someone for everyone. You have someone Caitlyn, someone who gives so much more than they get, you just haven't met them yet."

She sighed, taking off her hat and setting it beside her before nudging Nidalee beside her. "Is this guy for real?" She asked, not even pretending to acknowledge my presence. "YOu seem to know him far better than I do."

"I didn't believe him either." She replied, turning to regard the both of us. When her eyes met Caitlyn's, she opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She seemed to be struggling with what to say next. "It was a mistake to not believe him. The last time I didn't, I...I…"

"Hurt herself." I quickly cut in, causing her to look up at me in surprise. "I tried to tell her not to stand in a spot where I knew someone was going to turn the corner. She decided to prove that I was wrong, and when she did, they knocked her over."

"So you can see the future?" Caitlyn asked.

"Of certain things." I replied. "I can't say anything about it though. The last time I did, well…" My eyes went to the limp body in my lap. This time, when I rustled her hair, Caitlyn did nothing. "That's why I'm doing this, to fix my mistakes."

"If this doesn't work, you know I'm going to lock you away for a very long time, don't you?" The sheriff commented. "You've all but confessed to killing my partner. I know you couldn't have been the one to shoot her. The gun you'd have had to use is too big to just stash somewhere and the gunshot was much further away than the amount of time between her attack and your arrival. Either way," her eyes honed in on me, "I refuse to let her die without someone being held responsible."

"I understand."

"Can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Nidalee asked me, causing Caitlyn's suspicious eyes to rest on the two of us. Even still, I nodded, carefully making sure that Vi's head rested gently on the bench before standing and walking with Nidalee to the next car. Closing the door behind us, she leaned against it, her expression somber and melancholic. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You lied for me. You told her that it wasn't my fault that the woman was shot." She could scarcely believe that I'd do such a thing, given my treatment of her earlier. "I've been just playing it over and over in my head. What if this guy you're talking about was Kiba? I know that if that woman had accidentally killed him, I'd probably hate her forever." She covered her face with her hands and began to sob.

"Hey, hey." I cooed, pulling her into a comforting hug. "Don't cry. It's okay."She hugged me back, pressing close to me. "We've all done things we're ashamed of Nidalee." I whispered in her ear. "A friend of mine recently told me, however, that it's the fact we feel bad for our actions that separates the good from the bad. It took me a long time to see it. Too long. What I said before, I didn't mean it. I was just scared and angry. I took that out on you, and I shouldn't have. So please, forgive me?"

I could feel her nodding over my shoulder, as if she were afraid that if she tried to speak she'd become choked up on her words. Instead, we stood there for a long time, hugging one another in the empty train cart. Over her shoulder, I could see Caitlyn, now having moved to the other side to sit beside her partner, watching over her and struggling to keep strong.

"In this world, Nidalee, you've been my closest friend. You've stuck up for me when others have doubted me. You've jumped to my side, even when you thought I was wrong. In a way, in this world you're my best friend. That means that no matter what happens, I'll be there to protect you. For me, protection is more than a virtue, it's an expression of who I am. I want to protect the world, which is an impossible goal. But if there's one thing I can protect, it's the people I care about most." I pulled from the hug, taking her hand in mine. "We're a covenant now, Nidalee. You're one of my own and I look after my own, understand?"

"You're so strange." She sniffled, wiping her eyes with her other hand. "How can you so easily forgive those you think have wronged you?"

"Well, if I was them, I'd want to be forgiven, too. In my opinion, morality is subject primarily, more than anything else, to intention. Imagine there's a cub in your family. He's trapped in a box with two buttons on the top that are labeled 'kill' and 'open'. Which button would you push?"

"Open, of course." She replied. "But why…?"

"Now imagine that the person who made the box made a mistake. The buttons were switched, but you didn't know. When you pushed 'Open' it actually killed the cub."

"I don't want to think about this." She murmured.

"Bear with me." I assured her. "You'd feel guilty. Awful, even. You'd convince yourself that you were a bad person because of the effects of your actions, and it'd be something you struggle with the rest of your life. That's because we're forced to live with our effects, not with our actions. You'd forget completely that when given the option to choose between 'Kill' and 'Open' that you chose the one you thought was a better choice. That's what makes you a good person."

"Who cares? The cub is still dead." She hissed. "Even if I didn't mean for it to happen, it'd still be my fault that he died."

I shook my head, squeezing her hands tightly. "That's not true. Fault is also subjective. Was it your fault the cub was in that box in the first place? You didn't make the box. You didn't put the cub there. You didn't switch the buttons. You made the best choice you thought you could make and that is what's important. People think doing nothing wipes their hands of the problem, but if you did nothing, that cub would starve to death in that box. 'Evil succeeds when good men do nothing.' But you _made_ a choice. You decided good instead of evil, and that makes all the difference!"

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Alright, well let's look at it this way then. Say you decided to kill the cub. You pushed the button, fully expecting the box to end its life, only to find out that it released it back into the wild. You rescued the cub, but does that make you a good person?"

"N-no…"

"So, no matter what you would do in that situation, you'd be a bad person?"

She fell quiet, contemplating the question heavily in her mind. "I don't know." She stated. "Before this talk, I'd have pushed the open button without even considering the fact that it could end poorly. I think that, more than anything, is why I wouldn't be able to live with myself after. If I'd have thought about it more, if I'd known the buttons were switched, if…"

"But you couldn't." I reminded her. "No one expects you to know every aspect of a situation. There are forces at play so tiny and insignificant that even knowing they exist would change how they work in ways you can't predict. We have to live with our effects, but that doesn't mean we can't justify our actions."

She leaned in, sweetly kissing my cheek in the same spot that Lamb had. "Thank you, for everything. You've taught me almost as much as Kiba has." She chuckled to herself at the thought. "You should be careful, next thing you know I may start to have a crush on you. Then you'll really find yourself in hot water."

As the word crush left her lips, the realization struck me as my eyes widened. Could that mean that...surely not. "Lamb…" I muttered to myself, almost in awe. I wouldn't have written that, would I? Even if I had, what about Remy? Did that mean that something had happened to us back on Earth? Things had began to become very confusing.

"Lamb?" Nidalee asked confnused.

"Sorry, I was just thinking to myself." I lied, scratching my cheek. "Anyway, we'll be in Zaun soon, I hope. Thanks again for patching up Vi. I'm sure this kid will be able to give us a hand."

"Kid? Who is he?"

I smiled softly. "He's a friend of another character I've made. I never outright mentioned him, mostly because he wasn't introduced until after, but he's a marvel at time manipulation. If anyone will be able to reverse Vi's fate, it's him."

"What's his name?" Nid asked.

"His name is Ekko."

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Manifesto Ch. 8

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, here's the newest chapter of Manifesto. Sorry it took me so long to update something, my classes started last week so I've been really focused on it. Writing literary fiction is definitely harder than writing commercial fiction, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. I finally have a date for the play: April 20th. Still don't know when the tickets go on sale, but when they do I'll be sure to email anyone who's interested the link to purchase them. It's for a good cause, don't forget! -Kiba**

Having arrived in Zaun, I walked nervously through it's streets. This city was foul and rancid. The air was so thick with smog, it was amazing that anyone could see where they were going with so little sunlight. "This place always give me the creeps." Caitlyn muttered as she followed closely behind me. "I hope you know where you're going."

"The corner of Dead Cop and Prostitute junction." I replied, scanning the streets for any sign of our destination.

"Please tell me that's a joke." Caitlyn groaned.

I shifted Vi's weight on my back so that her chin rested on my shoulder. Part of me unconsciously went to nuzzle against her, before I reeled back in surprise. Was Thane in my mind now? The possibility of it was astonishing. If every time a character disappeared I gained their emotions, I'd have a real problem on my hands.

I've always struggled with hiding my emotions, to the point where I've gotten so used to people reading me like a book that I get frustrated easily when they can't. My gaze went to Caitlyn beside me. If anyone could pick up on the foreign feelings, she'd be the one to do it.

"Are you alright?" Nidalee asked, her hand brushing against mine.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just...nervous is all." I quickly assured her. "With Thane gone, I'm still a little dazed. It must be something to do with what's changed."

The huntress fell quiet, looking away from me without a response.

"Are _you_ alright?"

"No." She admitted in a hushed whisper. "I feel like I've just murdered not one, but two innocent people. You say that this Thane person was real, but because I warned Kiba...he just stopped existing. How can I possibly bear that?"

"You're still really upset about that, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! Not only did he die, but everyone forgot he ever existed in the first place!" She protested. "That's the last thing I'd wish on anyone. I know all too well what it's like to be forgotten. Now, when we bring Vi back, chances are she won't remember him either. He'll be just like me; forgotten by the person he loved most."

I paused for a moment, causing Caitlyn to impatiently huff. "Are we going to stop every time one of you decides to have philosophical turmoil? Because if so, my friend will definitely not be coming back."

I ignored her, however. "We're not talking about Vi or Thane, are we?" I replied to Nidalee. "We're talking about you and Kiba. I know that you still feel for him. I know it hurts to know he doesn't feel the same way. But he _never_ forgets you. In fact, he thinks about you often, more so than he feels he should. I know how it seems. But when you left, it really did hurt him. He's not angry with you because he knows that it's not what's right for either of you, but he also won't just let it go. He yelled at Nasus the day you first left. When you stayed in the city and ended up at his doorstep, he couldn't have been happier."

A smile crossed Nidalee's features as Caitlyn let out a groan. I could tell that inside, she had the same sort of heart that I did, but I wouldn't bring it up. She was right in that time was of the essence, but even in a hurry, I felt like stopping to help was never wrong.

Finally, we reached a run down old building. Normally, this wouldn't be out of place in Zaun, but I had the sinking suspicion that this was what we were searching for. Even still, I stood at the door, unable to move my legs. "What's wrong?" Caitlyn demanded. "Are you just going to stand there staring at it?"

"I...I'm scared." I finally admitted. Nidalee gently rested a hand on my shoulder, but Caitlyn grabbed my wrist, pulling me aside and throwing me against the wall as Vi's body slumped on the ground.

"You're scared?!" She snapped. "You drag me and the corpse of my best friend to another city on the promise that she may be able to come back. All the mean while you're spewing this lovey-dovey bullshit like you're some fucking God who knows everything, and you won't walk through a door because you're scared?" Her patience had finally run out as I looked into her eyes, as she repeatedly shoved me against the brick wall of the building. "What the hell do you have to be scared about, huh? You know everything! You've made me listen to you go on and on about how the world works like you're the Gods damned end all!"

"Please...stop yelling at me." I whimpered as Nidalee quickly stepped between us.

"That's enough." She tried, but Caitlyn shoved her away before jamming her gun under my chin.

"Give me one good reason for why I shouldn't put a bullet into your skull, right now! It won't matter if you're right or wrong at that point anyway! You say it's your fault all this happened right? Well even if I can't bring back Vi, at least I can kill the bastard responsible for her!"

Nidalee's spear rested against the Sheriff's temple. "Do not touch him again." She warned, but Caitlyn's rage was still building.

"Nid, please...stay out of this." I requested. "Cait…"

"Don't call me that."

My hand went up to rest on her gun. Her muscles tensed, but instead of pushing it away, I held it firmly there. "If you really think it will help you feel better, pull the trigger." I insisted. "I've said it before, I'll say it again...I'm not afraid of death. I know what will happen if you shoot me. What I don't know is what will happen when I walk through that door, and that's what scares me. You may not believe it, but I do care about you and Nidalee and Vi...and everyone else."

"Why?" She demanded. "Why should you care? We're just characters in your stories!"

"You're more than that to me!" I argued, causing her to pause. "I know that doesn't make any sense, all right? To everyone else you're a fictional video game character. Just something someone made up. But to me, all of my characters, including you, you're more than that. I don't read fanfiction, and I tell my readers such. They're always so confused by it." I was trembling more now. "It doesn't make sense, I know. I write fanfiction, but I don't even have the drive to look at anyone else's."

Her grip on my shirt released as her gun fell from my chin. "Why?"

"I...I get too attached. My stories aren't just things that I spew out. They're my hopes and dreams given form. Every shared kiss, every soft touch...they're my wishes. I wish that the feelings and love I had could be so passionate. I wish that I was charming and romantic enough to make Remy as happy as the people in my tales. When I see a character with someone else...it hurts me in ways I can't even begin to explain. It's like watching one of your best friends cheating on another one. That's why when my readers ask me to read their work I can usually only get through a chapter at the most. I mean, what am I supposed to tell them? That I can't read something involving a character I've written because I'm jealous of them? I don't even own those characters half of the time and I still treat them as if they belong to me!" I looked down at the crumpled Vi, stooping down to pick her back up. "It makes me a better writer to attach my feelings to a story. I know that. But I always hate that I end up becoming attached to things that don't belong to me, that _shouldn't_ belong to me."

I began to walk back towards the door. "I don't think that's silly." Caitlyn called after me, making me stop. "You can't help how you feel."

I looked at her over my shoulder. "You're right, I can't. But that won't stop me from trying to bury it down." As I entered through the doorway, Nidalee passed the sheriff to follow me before even she at last trailed behind us.

As I stepped into the room, my eyes went almost immediately to the gigantic mural on the brick. I remembered it from Ekko's trailer, and I could only surmise it was his younger brother, possibly destroyed in some accident. Singed, however, was nowhere to be found. Most likely, he made a hasty retreat after Ekko pummeled him into submission.

That was when my gaze trailed back to the boy who stood at the workbench with his back to us. Resting against it was his signature clock-hand sword, patiently awaiting its next use. He didn't hear us enter, evident by the way that he played the air guitar to the music pumping through the headphones. Passing Vi to Caitlyn, I walked behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump.

Turning around to regard us, he took one look before bolting for a nearby window out of the building. "No, wait!" I cried, rushing after him as the two girls gave chase as well. He began to leap up a tower of boxes towards the sky light, but just before he did Caitlyn leveled her rifle and with a loud crack, fired her net, sending him hurtling towards the ground with a pained thud. "Sorry about that…" I began, just as there was a flash of blue light.

* * *

As I stepped into the room, my eyes went almost immediately to the gigantic mural on the brick. I remembered it from Ekko's trailer, and I could only surmise it was his younger brother, possibly destroyed in some accident. Singed, however, was nowhere to be found. Most likely, he made a hasty retreat after Ekko pummeled him into submission.

That was when my gaze trailed back to the boy who stood at the workbench with his back to us. Resting against it was his signature clock-hand sword, patiently awaiting its next use. He didn't hear us enter, evident by the way that he played the air guitar to the music pumping through the headphones. Passing Vi to Caitlyn, I walked behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, only for his fist to come crashing against the side of my face.

Caitlyn leveled her rifle as he began to ascend the tower of boxes, while I scrambled after him, but he hesitated for some reason. With a crack, Caitlyn's net sailed past him, landing against the far wall. He managed to get up on to the roof, while I was close behind him. I was surprised when he turned on me, instead of running, using his clock hand sword to strike me hard in the chest. After practicing Tae Kwon Do for a majority of your life, however, you manage to pick up a few things.

I grabbed him quickly, tossing him over my hip onto his back before placing my foot on his chest. As his arms came up, I thought he'd grab my leg and try to shove me off of him, but instead he put his hand to his wrist, just a moment before I realized what he was up to and was blinded by a blue flash.

* * *

As I stepped into the room, my eyes went almost immediately to the gigantic mural on the brick. I remembered it from Ekko's trailer, and I could only surmise it was his younger brother, possibly destroyed in some accident. Singed, however, was nowhere to be found. Most likely, he made a hasty retreat after Ekko pummeled him into submission.

That was when my gaze trailed back to the boy who stood at the workbench with his back to us. Resting against it was his signature clock-hand sword, patiently awaiting its next use. He didn't hear us enter, evident by the way that he played the air guitar to the music pumping through the headphones. Passing Vi to Caitlyn, I walked behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, only for his fist to come crashing against the side of my face.

Caitlyn leveled her rifle as he began to ascend the tower of boxes, while I scrambled after him, but he hesitated for some reason. With a crack, Caitlyn's net sailed past him, landing against the far wall. He managed to get up on to the roof, while I was close behind him. He was fast, but I wasn't too bad of a sprinter myself.

He was running out of room to run, soon I'd have him cornered. I was shocked, however, when he dove from the roof, causing me to come to a startled halt at the edge. I didn't quite realize just how high up we were and he was lucky to have made the jump to the mattress filled dumpster down below before running down the alley way towards the street. I swore under my breath, I'd have to find another way down.

Before I could, however, I heard a shout of surprise just as Nidalee in her cat form pounced, interrupting Ekko's movement and driving him to the ground. She let out a low growl in his face, before there was a flash of blue light that engulfed the both of them.

* * *

As I stepped into the room, my eyes went almost immediately to the gigantic mural on the brick. I remembered it from Ekko's trailer, and I could only surmise it was his younger brother, possibly destroyed in some accident. Singed, however, was nowhere to be found. Most likely, he made a hasty retreat after Ekko pummeled him into submission.

That was when my gaze trailed back to the boy who stood at the workbench with his back to us. Resting against it was his signature clock-hand sword, patiently awaiting its next use. He didn't hear us enter, evident by the way that he played the air guitar to the music pumping through the headphones. Passing Vi to Caitlyn, I walked behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, only for his fist to come crashing against the side of my face.

Caitlyn leveled her rifle as he began to ascend the tower of boxes, while I scrambled after him, but he hesitated for some reason. With a crack, Caitlyn's net sailed past him, landing against the far wall. He managed to get up on to the roof, while I was close behind him. He was fast, but I wasn't too bad of a sprinter myself.

He was running out of room to run, soon I'd have him cornered. I was shocked, however, when he dove from the roof, causing me to come to a startled halt at the edge. I didn't quite realize just how high up we were and he was lucky to have made the jump to the mattress filled dumpster down below before running up the alley way away from the street. I swore under my breath, I'd have to find another way down. Where the heck was he going?

I began pursuing him over what rooftops I had access to, until there was another boom like thunder followed by the sickening thud of Ekko's body falling to the ground. I quickly scaled down the drain pipe, my eyes managing to glimpse a brief reflection along Zaun's rooftops. Just like Vi, Ekko had been shot.

Wolf licked his chops, unseen in the ether. Finally, he'd have his chase. However, when his eyes saw my approach he let out a frustrated growl. "Damn it!"

As my shadow fell over the boy, he looked up at me in a panic, but I quickly reached for his arm. He weakly tried to pull away, but I just grabbed the switch on his time engine and gave it a twist, causing a flash of blinding blue light.

* * *

As I stepped into the room, my eyes went almost immediately to the gigantic mural on the brick. I remembered it from Ekko's trailer, and I could only surmise it was his younger brother, possibly destroyed in some accident. Singed, however, was nowhere to be found. Most likely, he made a hasty retreat after Ekko pummeled him into submission.

That was when my gaze trailed back to the boy who stood at the workbench with his back to us. Resting against it was his signature clock-hand sword, patiently awaiting its next use. That was when I saw the crimson patch on his back, slowly becoming wider. "Oh shit!" I cried, running towards him. "Nidalee! I need you to patch him up, now!"

Immediately, the Huntress was beside me, placing her hands on him as her magic began to knit the holes of his flesh back together. He was lucky, I noted. The bullet had gone straight through him and missed his vital organs. Thank God for Nidalee's magic though, or he would have probably lost the use of his left arm. The fact that he'd been still standing after...turning to Caitlyn, I called to her. "Caitlyn, he was just shot! Or he would have been in a few seconds. Vi's killer followed us! He maybe somewhere over the rooftops still."

There was a fire in her eyes as she nodded, quickly rushing from the room as Ekko let out a harsh gasp, sitting up now that Nidalee had finished her work. "Take it easy." She instructed as his hand went to the now mended wound in awe.

Turning to me, he looked up in my eyes before muttering. "You saved me."

"What? No, that was all Nidalee, believe me."

Ekko shook his head. "No, I mean before, err...after. It's complicated to explain."

"It's fine." I assured him, turning back to Vi. "Listen, that woman over there needs your help. I need you to use your time engine on her to bring her back to life."

He looked up at me in surprise. "I don't understand, how did you know about my time engine? That's supposed to be a secret."

"It's complicated to explain." I quoted. He frowned, clearly not pleased with that response, but still he accepted it. "The same man who shot you also shot Vi. Did you manage to see who it was?"

"No, he was wearing a mask." The young boy explained. "I'm sorry I can't help."

"That's fine, but I need you to use your engine on Vi still."

"No, you don't understand." He argued. "I can't help you, not with the man who shot me or with her. It only reverts back eight seconds and it doesn't reverse death." His eyes went past me to the mural on the wall where the young boy was painted. "Believe me, I've tried."

"Well, you'll have to try again." I snapped, plucking the engine from his hip before he could form a protest. Walking over to Vi, I clipped it to her before turning back to him with my hand outstretched. After a moment, he sighed, removing the glove and tossing it to me.

The doors banged open as Caitlyn came in, visibly infuriated that she hadn't managed to locate her target. "You'd better have more luck on this end." She snapped, the rifle held tightly in her hands.

"I'm trying to tell him, it won't work!" Ekko repeated.

I slipped the glove over Vi's hand anyway. Lamb had told me to follow my gut and right now, my gut was telling me that Lamb's refusal to take her would change the rules on Ekko's time engine. Pulling the ripcord, it revved to life and taking her hand in mine, I twisted the glove's lever and there was a bright blue flash.

As the light faded away slowly, Vi let out a blood curtling scream as she suddenly sat up, her chest rising and falling dangerously fast. "Vi, calm down." I instructed her, causing her to look around wildly before Caitlyn quickly dropped to her knees and threw her arms around her friend.

"Caitlyn? Where am I?" She demanded quickly. "I remember a shot and then…" Her body began to tremble as Caitlyn clutched on to her even more tightly. Ekko's eyes were wide in awe.

"But...how…?"

"I have friends in high places." I tried to explain, a soft smile coming to my face. So Lamb truly was there to help me. The thought made me relieved as Nidalee threw her arms around me excitedly.

"Thank Gods." She cheered. "This means I didn't kill anyone. Thank Gods." She nuzzled against me before kissing my cheek in gratitude. "I don't know how else to possibly thank you." She whispered in my ear. "I hope that's enough."

"More than enough." I assured her, returning her embrace.

"Okay, that's enough! Who the hell are you people?" Ekko growled. "You have a _lot_ of explaining to do. I want answers and I want my engine back!"

Vi was finally starting to calm down as Caitlyn reached to her hip, unclipping it as well as the glove and offering both to the young scientist. Taking them both, he reequipped them before looking towards me expectantly.

"You'd better sit down for this." I sighed. He nodded, lowering himself into a chair.

"You need to hear this too, Vi." Caitlyn added, comfortingly rubbing her friend's shoulders.

As I began to explain everything, who I was, where I came from, he just sat there, dumbfounded by the possibilities. He couldn't even begin to believe what was going on. Vi was just as shocked as he was, but hers was in anger. "So you're the reason I got shot?!" She accused of me, standing up and cracking her fists. "You wrote me getting shot so you can play the hero, is that right?"

"Vi, stop!" Caitlyn protested, standing between us.

"Damn it, let me go Cupcake! This guy killed Thane, I'm going to make him pay!" She shouted, struggling in the sheriff's grip as tears streamed down her face. My eyes went wide as she continued to spit curses at me. She remembered Thane?

"I didn't write this." I calmly whispered. "Whoever shot you is working on his own. I don't have control over him."

Caitlyn squeezed her partner tightly in her arms as she began to sob uncontrollably. "He's gone, Cait. Thane's gone." The sheriff's features showed the pain that came from not knowing him, but even still she held her tightly. "I know Vi, I know. We'll do whatever we can to get him back, but blaming Kiba isn't the way."

"That's _not_ Kiba." Vi murmured. "Kiba would never do something like this."

Her words lanced through me as I turned away from her back towards Ekko. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the man who shot you?" I asked. "I have more than a few questions for him."

The begoggled tinkerer scratched his chin in thought. "He was definitely male." He stated, his eyes closing as he made a visual image in his mind. "The way he laid on the roof wouldn't have accommodated breasts. His rifle was strange, it wasn't like your friends. It fired something else other than an actual bullet. I also remember a weird smell when the bullet hit me, almost like tree bark. Does that help you at all?"

I shook my head. "I can't say it does. At least, not yet. Maybe it'll come in handy. Sorry to have bothered you with all of this, Ekko. Give my regards to Brett for me, would you?"

"Brett?" Ekko asked confused. "Who in the Hells is Brett?"

"Brett Tyler." I reminded him. "You know...twelve year old kid, has a white top hat, crazy good at magic and alchemy?"

"I don't know who that is."

"Son of a bitch." I muttered, walking towards the door as our attacker's plan fell into place. "We need to get to Piltover, now!" I told the others, causing them to look up at me confused. "He's targeting my OC's, but he's not just killing them, he's making them cease to exist. Whatever he's shooting at people, it's unraveling the stories."

"Why Piltover?" Caitlyn asked.

"Because Kal and Ahri are currently on their honeymoon." I explained quickly. "If he manages to kill Ahri, it'll be a lot more than Kal who disappears. Both of their children, Flintlock, Yildizlar, Arcturus...almost every original character I've made will cease to exist." Nidalee went to open her mouth before I turned to face her. "And yes, that includes Kiba! We can discuss this later, but right now, we need to leave. Our one advantage that we have on him is that we know where he's going and who he's targeting. I don't care who this guy is, but he will not get away with this."

"W-wait, Kiba!" Nidalee called after me as I stormed out of the building. "What is the matter with you?" She asked as she caught up to me. "I've never seen you act like this before."

I turned on her. "Congratulations, Nidalee. You're about to see what happens when I lose my temper. I'm going to find this guy and when I do, I'm going to show him what happens when you mess with my stories."

Before I could turn to leave again, however, she threw her arms tightly around me, hugging me again. "Stop it." She whispered to me. "This isn't how you are. You're supposed to be patient and forgiving. I've seen it. Don't be like him."

"I'm nothing like him." I growled, but she didn't let me go. Already, I could feel the anger starting to purge from my body like steam. "I'm sorry." I finally apologized. "When I'm angry, I can become blinded sometimes."

"I know, we all do."

"Not like me, you don't." I sighed. "Once, when I was a kid, a boy whose Mom had died was picking on me. At one point, he was shoving me and said 'What's wrong? Going to go cry to your Mom?' I hate it when people target my crying. It's one of the easiest ways to piss me off. I looked him dead in the eyes and said 'At least I still have one.' That may not sound bad compared to other people's anger. But part of what makes me a good writer is that it's easy for me to find what hurts others, and when I'm pissed I'll have no qualms with using it."

"I don't believe that." She argued. "I think you do have problems using it. I think you can't control yourself when you say awful things, and because of that you blame yourself. I bet if you were to meet that child again, all these years later, he probably doesn't even remember that."

"That's the problem with having a good memory." I retorted. "He may not remember, but I'll never forget any of the bad things I've done...or others. Thank you Nid, for calming me down. But I'm still going to find this guy and stop him once and for all."

"And I'll be there to help you, every step of the way." She beamed, her lips curling into a large smile. "And before you go off on a 'it's too dangerous' rant, like I expect you would, I'd like to remind you that not only am I a capable hunter and tracker, but that I'm also a character whose influence over your stories has already come to an end. You told me yourself, once I left for Kumungu Jungle, I wasn't supposed to ever come back. I can't think of anyone better to help you than that."

"She's right, you know?" Caitlyn pointed out, emerging with Vi beside her. The enforcer still couldn't bring herself to look me in the eye. "You should take her with you. Not to mention that I've seen how Kiba fights and if you're anything like him you have your work cut out for you."

"What about you two?"

The sheriff looked at her partner who still remained silent. "We'll head back to Piltover, but I think we need some time to ourselves. I may not be able to remember him, but...I'm sorry, Kiba. We just can't help you."

"Josh." I finally stated. "You can call me Josh, if you like."

* * *

Sona's eyes went wide as she sat at the train station in Piltover. Had Yil comeback for her after leaving? She knew that he was probably hurting, just as she was, but surely it couldn't have been her imagination. "Yil…" She thought softly, just as his image began to waver. No, an illusion? That couldn't be the case. There was suddenly a loud rumble of thunder and she felt herself struggling to breathe.

This wasn't right. Was Nocturne the one responsible for this? The image of Yil hardened, her heart rising for joy before she felt something warm trickling down her chest. Reaching up slowly, Sona realized that there was a gaping hole in her throat, the warm sensation being her own blood. Her vision began to blur as Yil shattered into nothingness. She soon felt unbelievably sad, not because she was dying, but for some other unknown reason. The last thing she wondered was what it was that made her so sad.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Manifesto Ch. 9

As we all rode in relative silence back to Piltover, I continued to think about what was happening around me. Someone was targeting my Original Characters, but why? More importantly, how did he know which people to shoot and which ones not to? Ekko ended Brett, Vi ended Thane...why didn't he just target them specifically? Did he feel that killing them wasn't enough?

"You seem really deep in thought." A voice purred, causing me to look up to find the world frozen and gray.

"Hey, I was hoping to hear from you." I replied, standing up from the chair. Looking around, I could only see Lamb present in our vicinity. "Where's Wolf?"

She scratched her head curiously. "Well, he was a little upset that you saved the boy who's lived multiple lives so he's skulking. Truth be told, even though we're supposed to be impartial, I think that secretly he's Wolf's favorite."

"What if he doesn't run?"

"A boy who turns back the clock to fix mistakes? He will most certainly run when his time is over." After a brief pause, her cheeks lit up as she realized something. "Oh, you said you wanted to see me? What about?"

"I wanted to thank you. Without you, I doubt I'd have been able to help Vi. Even if Thane didn't come back, I still appreciate your help. This craziness of going off the rails, it's hard to wrap my head around, so I'm grateful you're here to keep me straight." Her cheeks turned an even brighter red than before as she wrapped an arm around mine, once more leading me towards the back of the train.

"I see. Well, you're very welcome. I'm afraid I must thank you as well. You're greatly assisting me in learning of emotions. Lately, it seems I've been feeling more and more."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked. "I mean, does that not unbalance the universe or something?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Because of you, things have been changing. People are beginning to die without Wolf and I being summoned, which I can only assume means there are other Kindred who are now reaping souls." A soft smile came to her face. "I wonder if all Lambs have the same feelings I do."

"Well, I for one, doubt I'd have the same amount of help from any other Lamb. In fact, I'm sure I prefer the genuine article." She paused, tilting her head slightly to look at me with those piercing blue eyes.

"Do you really feel that way?"

"Of course. You're my friend. Even if there were exact copies of you, it wouldn't change that you were the one I knew first. If there was another me, I'm sure you'd feel the same way, right?"

"Y-yeah. I suppose that's true." She giggled, though I could sense a nervousness in her voice before she cleared her throat. "Anyway, what do you plan to do now? Are you going to just capture your main characters to prevent the man from getting to them?"

I scratched the scruffy beard that was growing on my chin in consideration. "I doubt that I could keep Ahri under wraps for long. If she didn't kill me, Kal definitely would. No, it would be better to scare them out of their wits so they go into hiding without meeting me directly. That way, if I don't know where they are, the attacker can't know where they are." I could see a cheerful gleam in her eyes that told me she supported my plan. "Am I allowed to ask you some questions?"

"That depends entirely on the question." She answered cryptically. "I'll let you know if I can or can't tell you."

"Can you tell me who this guy is that's going around shooting people?"

"He goes by 'Jhin', but I doubt that's his real name." She explained. "I can't tell you where to find him though or who his next target is. I'm afraid the book keeps me from telling you. I don't want to make things worse."

"It's okay, I understand. Alright, how about this...do I ever get back home?"

Her features visibly sank behind her mask, to the point where I didn't even need to hear the answer.

"I see. So, I'm never going to see Remy again. All of my friends, gone. I'll disappear and they won't be able to see me ever again. I wonder if I'll stop existing like Thane and Brett or if they'll just think I was killed or something. For Remy's sake, I hope it's the first."

"Why do you say that?" Lamb wondered. "I thought your biggest fear was being forgotten."

"It is. But, I can't bear the thought of Remy not knowing whether or not I'm alive or dead. What if she thought I'd just left her? She'd be absolutely heart broken. They say it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, but I don't think she could take it if I were to vanish."

Lamb sighed softly in confliction. "Alright, I'll tell you this...she will be fine. I swear, Remy is and will be happy throughout the book." I could tell from the way she spat 'Remy' that she did not enjoy our subject. Was she jealous?

"Hey, Lamb?"

"Yes?"

"Who is it that you have a crush on? Is it me?"

She flushed beneath her mask and quickly shook her head. "N-no. It's not you. I swear. I'm sorry if I don't want to share a name, it's just that I'm try to work through all of these emotions and I'm nervous to tell him how I feel. So instead, I'm waiting to see if he realizes his feelings for me. Typically it's the males that make the first move, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. But sometimes if they're oblivious like me, they can't even tell that they should. They may even have feelings for you and not even know they have them. That being said, you could try to be a bit more forward without simply stating your feelings. Maybe then he'll get the hint."

"C-c-can I practice with you?" She stammered.

"Umm, sure. I suppose so." I replied.

Reaching up to her face, she removed her mask, once more exposing her paralyzingly beautiful face to me. I took a sharp breath, just as I always dead. I doubted I'd ever be able to get used to seeing the true beauty that she hid beneath her mask. Her small tail flitted nervously behind her as she blushed, holding the mask in front of her with both hands. "S-so, I j-just w-w-wanted to s-s-say that I...umm...I...really l-l-like y-you." The poor thing seemed so flustered that she could barely keep her words straight. "I'm s-sorry if that's w-weird." She stuttered, wringing the mask in her hands as she waited for me to respond.

"It's not weird at all, Lamb. The truth is, I like you too."

"R-really?!"

"Of course I do. I'm glad you told me. Would you like to maybe spend some time together later?"

She nodded fervently. "Very much so. If...you don't mind."

"Then it's a date." I answered, causing her face to steam from how hard she was blushing. She could barely look me in the eyes. Maybe the guy she had a crush on looked too different from me for her to take our role playing seriously. "That's all there is to it." I continued. "See? It's hard, but it's not so scary."

"Y-yeah. I suppose not." She continued to stand there, her tail twitching as an awkward silence settled over us. "I-is there some other way I could tell him? I mean, other than just talking to him."

"Still nervous? Well, I suppose you could always just be as forward as possible. Show him a gesture that will make it impossible for him to misread the mmf-" She interrupted my suggestion by pouncing on me and placing her lips against mine in a kiss. I wasn't sure how to react, though I was surprised that I'd managed to retain my balance, much less my consciousness. Her fingers wove through my thick hair, pulling my lips tighter against hers as she sucked playfully on my bottom lip. Unsure of what to do, my arms shakily wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer. I expected her to break the kiss and push away when she felt it, but instead, she only deepened it further. Now my heart was pounding hard in my chest, almost painfully so.

Her tongue slid into my mouth, and I knew that it was starting to go too far. But still, my body seemed to dance to her whims as I sucked and massaged her tongue with my own. She sighed into the kiss, pressing her body against my chest with her head tilted upwards so that our lips would not part.

When at last we parted, I felt an overwhelming sadness come over me. "Lamb, what are we doing?" I whispered,unable to look her in the eye. "I have...I already have someone else. I can't…" She was hurting from my words, I could tell, but beneath that was something else. A layer of expectation. "You knew about this. Didn't you?" Her head rose and fell solemnly. "And you did it anyway?"

"I'm really sorry…" She began, but I shushed her.

"Don't say you're sorry. I'm not angry."

"You're not?" She seemed perplexed for a moment. "But...I don't understand. That's not right. You're supposed to tell me you hate me." She stated. "The book said…"

"It doesn't matter what the book said. For once, I'm starting to agree with everyone else. I don't like the thought of the future being set in stone. Don't you think we should have the choice of our own destinies?"

"That's not how it works." She shouted as she turned away from me, punching the side of the train in frustration. Her knuckles began to bleed and she looked at them in awe as the crimson liquid stained the thin layer of fur.

Guiding her to the first aid kit, I began to wrap gauze around her hand to stop the bleeding. "Why do you want me to hate you anyway?" I asked. "I mean, it is me that you have a crush on isn't it?" She didn't say a word, just watched intently as I bandaged her scrapes. "I really wish you'd tell me what you're thinking."

"I love you."

The two of us stared at one another, each one expecting the other to make the first move that would decide the path from here on. "You love me?"

"Yes. I am certain of it now." She mumbled, flexing her bandaged fingers and drawing them close to her chest. "When I told you I first felt the 'drumming' because I was observing another human, it was a lie. The human was you. At first, I was skeptical but then when I read the book…"

"Forget the damned book!" I snapped, causing her to look up at me in surprise. "That book does not control you! If you're in love with me, then fine! Be in love with me, but don't do it because some stupid book told you too!"

"See, I knew you were upset…"

"I'm upset because I'm frustrated. So the book says you fall in love with me, but how do you feel about that? Do you want to fall in love with me?"

She remained silent, unsure of what to say. "I...I don't know."

"Then don't just tell me something like that if you don't actually feel that way. That's exactly what Zyra did, and you can recall what happened with her."

"Do you love me?" She asked, silencing me quickly. I mean, what am I supposed to say to that? I found myself avoiding her gaze, before her hand slid along my cheek in a gentle caress. Turning me back to face her, I finally met her eyes.

"That's not a question you want me to answer." I replied quietly. "Look, finding out that I'm not going back...it's not something that's easy for me to accept. It'll take me time to adjust."

She smiled, leaning closer and kissing me softly once again. "You do love me."

"Beg pardon?"

She began to giggle. "It's obvious really, when you think about it."

"How do you figure?"

Her arms wrapped tightly around me, pulling me closer so she could nuzzle into my neck with a happy purr. My own went to her waist as she trailed intoxicating kisses up to my ear. I was surprised by how much of a resistance I managed to build to her affections, considering the first time she even kissed my cheek I'd almost collapsed. The softness of her fur surprised me, matched only by the soft warmth of her voice as she spoke to me in a hushed whisper. "Because if you didn't love me, you wouldn't let me get this close to you. I've watched you with the other girls. You hug them, but in your eyes there's an anxiety that comes from being so near. You keep getting the emotions of your other characters, but in the end the only voice you know you can trust is your own, and it's telling you that you love me."

"You're really taking that 'be forward' advice to heart." I hoarsely muttered back. "It also seems like you've made your decision on how you feel. Sorry to disappoint you, but my judgment still stands."

She sighed softly, drawing away from me with a smile. "Either way. We have plenty of time."

"You really don't take 'no' for an answer, do you?"

Placing her mask back over her features, her brilliant sapphire blue eyes glowed smugly. "No one escapes Kindred." She teased, walking back towards the cart with a sway in her hips. As color returned to the world, I blinked and could hear the panicked shouts of the group nearby. Running back into the cart, I found them all standing looking around frantically.

"What? What's wrong?"

Nidalee's eyes turned towards me in shock. "What's wrong? I blinked and you were gone, that's what was wrong!"

"Sorry," I lied, "I just needed to stretch my legs."

"In order to stretch your legs, you need to walk." Caitlyn pointed out, scratching her head. "How did you do that?"

Vi, however, remained completely silent. "Do what? I think you guys just weren't paying attention."

"I was." Vi stated. "I was staring at you, thinking just how much I would love to punch your face in if it would actually help bring back Thane. I couldn't fathom how you could possibly smile after he disappeared. When you vanished, for a moment, I actually hoped you'd disappeared for good. Maybe even traded places with him." She rose to her feet, cracking her knuckles. "You disappeared completely. You didn't get up and leave, you just disappeared, only to suddenly run back into the cart when I pointed it out."

Her furious glare met mine as Caitlyn carefully stood between us, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Vi, you need to calm down." She tried before her hand was slapped away.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Cait! He was your boyfriend too, damn it!" She jabbed an accusatory finger in my direction. "This bastard is the one responsible for his death and I know you can't remember him, but if you could you'd be just as pissed off. To top it off, now he's hiding something from us."

Nidalee was up now too. "That's enough." She tried, but Vi shoved past her and began running towards me.

"Say something, you bastard!" She screamed, driving her fist towards me in what I was sure would be a knockout punch. I closed my eyes for a moment, but just before she could, the world's color vanished again. She'd stopped, mid punch just in front of me her body shimmering with a brilliant light.

"Lamb?" I called out, looking around to see I was alone. Slowly stepping to the side, I could see the individual drops of sweat, frozen on Vi's brow. Something caused time to stop. There was a sound like a hiss of wind, followed by the familiar tinkling of the bell that first brought me here, and the world started again, her punch flying past me.

"What in the Hells?!" She snapped, turning to strike me again, but before she could a net flew past me, driving her to the ground. Caitlyn walked to my side as Vi struggled in her bonds, before kneeling down beside her. "Cupcake?"

"Vi, he is trying his best." She lectured. "I know you are upset, but you can't take it out on the man who saved your life." Vi's only response was a low growl as she turned back towards me. "That being said, you have explaining to do. What did you just do to avoid that punch? Even when she's in a full rage, Vi is an expert fighter and you…"

"Yeah, I got it." I interrupted. "To answer your question...you seriously wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"That seems to be a pattern with you." Caitlyn groaned. "I believed you were from another world, didn't I? Have some more faith in me, if you please. You should know just as well as anyone that I'm trustworthy."

"More or less." I grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Alright, the reason I disappeared earlier is because I was talking to Kindred."

"Pull the other one. Let me guess, the two of you were having a party with the Tooth Fairy?"

I turned from her angrily, going to remove the net from Vi. "Look. I'm sorry you're angry at me, Vi. But I miss him too. He wasn't meant to die, alright? You two were meant to have a happily ever after. So if you're going to be pissed at someone, be pissed at whoever pulled the trigger and fucked up your timeline."

"Oh come on. How can you expect me to believe that you regularly sit down and have chats with Kindred? That doesn't make any sense."

"It's true." Nidalee interjected, sticking up for me. "I saw him die, but he came back instead anyway."

"I've also watched you bring people from the dead too." Caitlyn protested. "What about you Vi? Did you see Kindred?"

"To be honest...I didn't really see anything. One moment my eyes were closed, next I woke up in Zaun."

"Look, believe me if you want to. This is why I wanted to keep it to myself. Now, if it's all the same to you, I want to get back to Piltover, stop this asshole from killing any more of my characters, and get myself back home. Alright?" Turning away from them, I stormed out of the train car, slamming it shut behind me. Immediately, I could hear Nidalee pounding on it with her fist.

"Kiba, let me in." She pleaded, but I tried to quicken my pace away from her as she came in. "Kiba…"

"I'm not Kiba!" I shouted, wheeling on her.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not! What more proof do you need Nidalee? I'm not him! You saw him and me at the same time. You talked to him and found out yourself, I'm not him!"

Her hands went to my shoulders, applying pressure to them to square me with herself. "You're not _my_ Kiba, but that doesn't mean you're not him." She stated. "Kiba would do anything to help others, just like you. He wouldn't give up, even if other people said he was crazy and didn't believe them."

"I...am...not...Kiba." I enunciated again. I was growing incredibly tired of repeating myself, especially when it should have been so obvious that it upset me. "I'm just a guy who writes fanfiction. That's it."

"But you're so much more than that."

"I really don't want to have this conversation right now." I sighed, turning from her and storming towards the back of the cart. "Lamb!" I called out to her, but there was no response, which only served to make me feel even more foolish. Why wouldn't she answer me? Fine, if she wouldn't answer me, I'd just have to force her to.

Tearing open the door to the train, I stood there, wind rushing through my clothes as I began to gauge the distance for my jump. She refused to take me, right? Then if I leapt there would be no risk and she'd have to talk to me. Right now, I needed someone, anyone who would actually be able to help me.

"Kiba, what are you doing?!" Nidalee cried, barely audible over the roaring air.

Looking her in the eye, I could see the concern there. Even still, I knew that none of the people on this train truly believed what I had to say. It was time, I decided, to embrace my new life once and for all.

Not breaking eye contact, I leapt falling from the vehicle slowly. There was an audible crack as the car right behind the one I leapt from slammed into my knee, sending me rolling down the side of the rocky hill we'd been driving over, causing me to feel multiples of my bones snap like twigs beneath the harsh gravity.

Nidalee's face was visible as she reached out, as if she thought she could possibly hope to catch me before I jumped. Instead, the train raced away from the tracks and I found myself staring up at the darkened sky. My heart was slowing down, my body was in agony, and I knew it was finally time.

Darkness overcame me, just as it had many times before, until finally the familiar figures of Wolf and Lamb appeared before me. "That was a foolish leap, mortal." Wolf snarled at me as I turned to regard Lamb.

"Hey...again." I wheezed, coughing up small shards of my ribs. "Sorry for the extremity, but I needed to speak to you."

"And here I am." She stated, walking closer. "Make your choice, human. The arrow or the chase?"

I looked at her confused. "Lamb, what are you talking about?"

"Do not address her, human." Wolf roared in my face, sending flecks of ethereal saliva over my face. "Stop stalling and make your choice!"

"What happened to all that stuff about not being reaped, hmm?" I questioned. "Was this all some sort of trick to get me to off myself? If that was your plan this whole time, you should have just given me the arrow when I asked for it originally."

"Then you have made your choice." She stated, drawing her bow and leveling the tip of the arrow at me. "Do you have any last words, human? I cannot promise they will help, but they may grant you peace of mind."

I shut my eyes tightly as I tried desperately to think. Lamb was acting so strangely now. Was it because Wolf was here? She told me when we first found the books that she wanted to keep her feelings secret from him, but was she really willing to kill me over that secret? I searched her features for the answer, but struggled to find one through the wooden visage. My hand reached up towards her mask, but she quickly drew away, just before I felt Wolf's jaws clamp down on my arm. "You will not touch her, human." He demanded, his words muffled by the flesh that he was presently stripping from my bone. "You can get your last words, and then you will be reaped for your soul."

I winced, looking past him to Lamb who stood, her head held high and regal, much the way she had when we first met. That was when I noticed that her hand wasn't bandaged. "Your hand." I groaned. "You fixed your hand?"

"My...hand?" She asked puzzled, looking down at it.

"From when you punched the train." My voice was slurring now, the pain starting to drive me to unconsciousness.

"This human is delusional." Wolf commented, licking the blood from his chops. "Come sweet Lamb, just end this pathetic thing and let us move on. I sense there is a delicious soul waiting for us in Piltover."

Lamb shrugged her pale shoulders, drawing her bow and knocking an arrow. As she began to take aim, I suddenly heard the rush of wind and the bow was shot from her grip, sending it skittering to the ground beside her. "You will not touch him." Lamb's voice called, and lifting my head just slightly, I could see her sliding down the traintracks' elevation to come to a rest nearby, another arrow already aimed at the double as I felt something snag on my shirt, beginning to drag me. There were two Lambs? Turning my head slightly, I was startled to see a second Wolf as well.

"Fear not, human. You shan't be anyone else's prey so long as I draw breath." He growled through the fabric as a smear of blood trailed behind me. "How could you do something so foolish?"

"Who are you?" The other Lamb asked, her eyes never leaving the one who held the weapon. "Why do you interfere?"

"We are Kindred." The armed Lamb stated. "This man is under our protection."

"Kindred does not protect!" Other Wolf snarled at her, crouching down low in preparation of a charge. "And it is _we_ who are Kindred! You are nothing but cheap imitations!" He lunged at my sweet Lamb, but not swiftly enough to dodge the Wolf who'd up until recently hated me.

As the dark swirling masses of fur and energy tangled, they snarled and roared at one another, carefully avoiding any attempt at each other's life. Other Lamb quickly dove into a roll, picking up her bow and firing three arrows straight at Lamb who followed in kind. Each arrow clashed with one another as they continued to fire at each other over and over again, but didn't make any leeway one way or the other.

It was stunning to watch, each one seemingly knowing exactly when and where to move to counter the other one as I continued to try to crawl away with what energy I still had. Seeing this, Other Lamb quickly turned and fired an arrow straight at me, and my life flashed before my eyes.

There I was, six years old again, standing on the front lawn of my house. I looked up at my father, a large and gruff man, though ultimately the one who made me the sort of person I am. He'd just pulled me from school with no explanation. I was so confused as he stood in front of my Mom, arms crossed.

"Tell him!" He demanded. "Tell our son what you did to me!"

My Mother, an equally gruff woman knelt beside me, trying to calm the fear I obviously showed. I'd heard of other kids having divorces before, but this was different. She tried to explain it to me as innocently as she could. "I slept with another man, so I have to leave your Daddy."

"Why?" I asked, just as innocently. "I've had to sleep with Nicole before, she's a girl and I didn't have to leave."

"It's different." My mother tried. "We slept without our clothes on. Mommy shouldn't have done that, but now we have to go. Say bye to Daddy." So she took my tiny hand and led me to her car, looking back at Dad who couldn't bear to face either of us. "I'm taking him back to school. We can talk about this when they get home tonight."

Joke was on him. My mom took us on a three day 'vacation' to a hotel. My father hadn't been told where we were or what was going on. All he received was a phone call to let him know we were safe and that it was my mother who had us.

A flash of gold shot up from the ground, slamming against her arrow. It was sent hurtling up through the air only to land point side down just in front of me. Other Lamb couldn't believe what she'd seen. She'd never had a mortal escape her arrow before, regardless of circumstance. Taking her opportunity, my Lamb fired an arrow, and with a solid 'thud' it split her mask in two, causing it to slowly fall apart before Other Lamb dissolved into nothingness.

Running to my side, Lamb knelt down beside me to check if I was injured, only to be horrified by my present condition. "What did they do to you?" She asked, quickly going about healing my wounds. Her powers were far more impressive than Nidalee's. Rather than a burning, it felt like a soothing bath that lapped at my injuries until they were no more.

"You should see the other guy." I joked, causing her to quickly draw her bow scanning the horizon. "Kidding, kidding." I quickly recanted, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. Behind her, Wolf had pinned down Other Wolf and removed his mask before crushing it between his teeth. Just like his sister before him, Other Wolf melted away into the ether.

"Fools." Wolf gloated, snapping his jaws and approaching the two of us.

"Not a word about earlier." Lamb whispered to me before standing to regard her brother. He, thankfully, had not damaged his mask in the conflict. "Excellent work, dearest Wolf. Did you enjoy your 'chase'?"

He lazily drifted through the air in thought. "I've had better." He finally decided, coming to a rest just on the other side of me. "This one was a surprise though. What on Runeterra were you doing here?"

"Looking for you, actually. Where were you guys?"

Wolf and Lamb looked at one another, sharing the same look on their faces that my father had when I first asked him why he took me out of school that day. "There's something we need to tell you." Lamb answered. "Another one of your original characters has vanished. Not even half an hour ago in mortal time, Garen Crownguard was slain by being shot through the heart. You're not to blame."

"Did you manage to put him in stasis?" I asked, hopefully.

"We tried to get there as quickly as we could, but another Kindred beat us there and reaped him before we had the opportunity. I'm very sorry, human." Her head lowered as she placed her hands over her knees. "We failed you." She hiccuped as tears began to slowly drip down her beautiful face beneath the mask only to stain the back of her furred hands.

Wolf froze in horror at the realization that his sister was crying. More emotions? He knew that she'd begun to develop more of the mortal's traits over time, but this was an acceleration that shouldn't have been possible. His worst nightmare was coming to fruition: his sister was slowly becoming mortal.

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

Manifesto Ch. 10

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry it took me a while to release this new chapter. If you haven't checked it out yet, A Boy and His Fox: Redux is a rewrite of the original story. Better story, better pacing, better writing. That being said, please fave and review this story, it really means alot to me. I'll be at Anime Matsuri Houston at the end of the month. It'd be really neat to meet some readers so if you'll be there send me a PM! -Kiba**

Wolf's claws buried deeper and deeper into the dirt as he struggled with his new realization. How much time did he have left with his sister? If he killed the mortal, would it reverse all that was done? Could he _even_ kill the mortal? "This is not right." He muttered to himself, feeling a bit dizzy. "This is impossible!"

"Wolf?" Lamb quizzed, running her hand along his fur. "Is something wrong?"

He quickly tugged away, turning to face me as he bared his fangs. "You! This is your fault! You made my sweet Lamb cry!" He snarled, snapping his jaws in front of my face. Just as he had predicted, the same force that prevented him from reaping me earlier prevented him from killing me as well. That did not stop his assault from sending my heart into my throat in shock.

"Dearest Wolf, what has gotten into you?!" Lamb demanded, placing herself between us. "You are frightening him!"

"He _should_ be frightened!" Wolf argued. "We are Kindred, we are _not_ household pets that he can just summon whenever he wishes. He even leapt from a train just to speak with us, Lamb! Don't you think that is an insult, if nothing short of arrogant?"

"I suggest using your words then, dearest Wolf." She coolly replied. Turning to face me, she crouched down, and with the gentleness of an affectionate parent, or attempting to appear so at least, she placed her hand over my face. "Now human, my brother has a point. It's impolite not to thank us for coming to your rescue."

"That's nothing to do with this at all!" Wolf protested, but by holding up her other hand, she shushed him.

Through her odd digits, I could see her blue eyes full of kindness and...joy? She seemed like she was trying to contain her laughter but worried it would burst forth at any moment. "We've rescued you many times human. Come this point, I'd say you owe us quite the debt. Thrice we've prevented your death now and mended your injuries. We even helped you to bring back your friend. That's nearly four souls you owe us at this point."

I bit my lip nervously. I didn't like where this was going, but I played along anyway. "You're right. I'm sorry Lamb, Wolf. Thank you both for coming to my aid whenever I am in trouble. I didn't mean to insult you."

Lamb nodded in understanding, the smile behind her mask growing wider as Wolf watched dumbfounded. "I don't want your _sorry_ ," he shouted. "I want your life!"

"And his life, you shall have," his sister interjected, causing both of us to look at her in surprise.

"What?"

She moved her hand from my face to trail to my cheek, cupping it affectionately. "Well, obviously, you'll have to repay your debt to us. You owe us your soul. The question is, just how valuable is your soul? I imagine you're rather attached to it, so we'll have to put a value on it to see how much it is worth." Lamb considered it for a moment before with a certain wryness, she asked over her shoulder, "Tell me, dearest Wolf, how many souls would you surrender for the opportunity to chase this mortal down?"

"Ten," he immediately replied before shaking his head, "no, a thousand!"

"A thousand souls it is." Lamb agreed smugly.

"I feel like you've been watching movies from my world…" I mumbled before she offered me her hand and helped me to my feet, now repaired thanks to her magic. The bones didn't even hurt anymore.

"From this point on, dearest mortal, you will travel as part of Kindred. Or rather, you will serve Kindred, until your debt is once more repaid. We've saved your life four times now, so four thousand is the number of souls you will help us to reap. You shall be our retainer, understand?"

"No!" Wolf protested quickly. "I don't want him with us, I want him gone! Can't you see what he is doing, Lamb? He is manipulating you! Open your eyes, I beg of thee!"

She wrapped her arms around me, nuzzling my cheek with her own as she stared down her brother. "You said yourself, you didn't want to be his pet. Is it not then logical that he should be ours for treating us as such? I feel that is more than a fair punishment." My cheeks turned a bright red as I realized what she was trying to pull.

I cleared my throat. "Master Wolf," I tried, not really having ever done this sort of thing before, at least in person, "I'm afraid I must agree with Mistress Lamb. I couldn't bear the thought of my life being taken or my soul being reaped without first repaying both of you for your kindness."

"Then its settled," Lamb purred, running her fingers through my hair. "He comes with us."

"Lamb, as your brother, I demand that you cease this foolishness! How can you be so blind as to not see what is becoming of you? He's making you...you…" He struggled to find the words before she finished for him.

"Happy."

Immediately, Wolf fell quiet. "I was not aware you were unhappy. Very well then, if the mortal makes you happy, I suppose you may keep him." He turned away, beginning to pad away. "Enjoy being Kindred, human! It's not nearly as glamorous as you'd think. Let's see if you're fast enough to chase down the desperate."

I looked to Lamb in shock. Was she just going to let him leave? Even still, the smile in her eyes didn't fade. "Well, I suppose he's made his choice. Come then, we have work to do. I believe I heard the other Kindred mention Piltover? We should move quickly if we are to get there first."

"Lamb, I understand what you're doing but Wolf…"

"Mistress Lamb and Master Wolf," she corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mistress Lamb. How can you possibly be okay with letting Master Wolf leave on his own?"

"It is simple, loving human."

"Great, I get a moniker now."

"But of course, every member of Kindred has one. Just like 'dearest Wolf' and 'sweet Lamb'. I felt that 'loving human' was appropriate."

"But what about my name? I feel like 'human' is a bit derogatory, don't you think?"

She looked at me expectantly.

"Sorry. Don't you think so, Mistress Lamb?" Who would have known that Kindred could have such a kinky side. Though I had to admit that deep down, I was actually having a bit of fun in my new role. It was like a roleplay, but in real life.

"You must earn your title, loving human," she replied, "but I suppose I could change it. Very well, I will call you 'loving servant' from now on."

"Goodie." I muttered under my breath. "Very well, Mistress Lamb, how do we intend to get to Piltov...er?" Before I could even finish my question, the two of us stood at the Piltover train station, time still around us save the colorful figure that rested on the bench. It was a stark contrast to the grayscale of the world, and I could only assume that this was the first soul I'd reap.

"Ask the question." Lamb urged me, giving me a reassuring push towards the figure.

Walking closer, almost nervously, I could hear the pained gasps of air coming from them. So souls could still talk, regardless of injuries. I suppose that made sense, given their need to answer the question.

Standing over her now, I nearly recoiled in shock. It was a woman I recognized almost instantly. "Sona…" I gasped, gently lowering my hand towards her shocked eyes as the turned to regard me. "Hey, hey. It's alright," I whispered to her, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Lamb watched patiently from behind. This had been her third favorite part in the book and she was eager to watch it unfold before her eyes. The human had surprised her by going against the book on the train, but since everything after happened as described, she began to wonder if it had simply been a fluke.

"Who...are...you?" Sona asked, surprised by the sound of her own voice. It was a lovely voice, one that I was certain would be renowned had she only been able to use it in life. I swallowed nervously, helping her to sit up before I sat beside her.

"This is going to be difficult to understand." I started, causing Lamb to look at me in shock. The book had changed once more? What was he doing? He was supposed to ask her the question. She would choose the arrow and he would take his first step to being a third member of Kindred. "You see, we are Kindred," I explained, indicating to Lamb and I.

"I'm...dead?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so." Taking her hand in mine, I reassuringly squeezed it for her. "Right now, time is frozen, so you can take all the time in the world you'd like to prepare yourself. I'm afraid you will have to make the choice: the arrow or the chase. However, if you'd like to think on it or just say something to prepare yourself, I'd understand."

Her hands stroked her long flowing hair nervously as she looked at me expectantly. "You are not how I imagined Wolf to be. Tales of your ferocity and harshness are common place amongst the mortal world. I always thought that when my time came, my choice would be easy but…"

"It's not. It's not easy at all. You found yourself thinking, 'no one escapes Wolf, so why bother running? The arrow is swifter and less painful, so why would anyone choose otherwise?' That's what you're thinking, isn't it?"

Her head bobbed up and down in confirmation.

"Well, you are correct. I am not Wolf. I'm a human too, but I have to repay a debt to them, thus I'm subbing in for Wolf. I'm afraid I'm not much of a chaser, so if you do choose that, there is a chance you'd be able to lose me, able to live your life in this frozen era until we crossed paths again. Perhaps you could even escape me after that point." Our eyes met as she began to cry. I wrapped my arms around her in a comforting embrace. "But that's not what you want, is it? Being trapped in a world where nothing waits for you. You can't speak to your loved ones, you can't even watch their lives unfold. Instead, you just wander Runeterra until finally you're so exhausted that you can't take another step. On that day, your chase would end and you'd probably wonder why you didn't choose the arrow the first time instead of suffering through this emptiness. But as the stories you've heard say, we must all make the choice."

She closed her eyes tightly as tears began to fall even faster, drenching her cheeks. "I...I feel like I'm forgetting something," she finally sobbed. "There's something important that I'm supposed to remember, that I _have_ to remember, but I can't. It's like...someone took something from me that was worth dying for, but I can't even remember what it was." Now I was beginning to become sad. "Please," she begged, "I'll make the choice, but I need you to help me. Please give what I'm missing a name."

I thought about it for a moment. What could I tell her? That she had someone she truly loved, the only person who truly loved her as well, only for him to be taken away from her by some madman with a gun that even I, admittedly, knew nothing about? Finally, the answer came to me and with a soft smile, I took her hands in mine, locking our eyes together. "Sona…"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to tell you a story."

Lamb watched in awe as I began to regale Sona on the story of her sweet sonata. I told her about the man in the moon, and how one day he simply came into existence in her bedroom just as she'd awoken from a nightmare. With every word, I not only described, but instilled the memory inside of her of a reality that had never happened, that would now, never happen, only for her eyes to grow wider with each one. We talked about the arguments they had, the tender moments that they shared; every tear shed and smile granted just between the two of them in a way that no one else could possibly understand.

She said nothing the entire time, simply listening in a mix of excitement and happiness. Every moment in the story served to create, or recreate, a memory that she'd never had of a person she'd never known. There were times when she couldn't stop bawling and I had to pause, or that she smiled so brightly she couldn't help but to giggle despite her situation. Every emotion that she should have felt, I was dedicated to returning to her. This, I decided, was the worst crime that Jihn committed. It wasn't the destruction of my characters. It was the removal of the things that should have been most important to people, but couldn't be because he'd selfishly snatched it away. Well, if I never could go home, I'd make sure every single one of them was returned, even if I did manage to reap the four thousand souls I supposedly owed.

As the story finally came to its conclusion, the one that I'd not even put to paper yet, Sona wiped away one last tear from her eye. "Thank you." She finally whispered. "I'm not entirely sure what to say. The story was beautiful and now that I've heard it...I feel at peace. Do you think, once I've made my choice, I'll be able to meet Yil? I mean, see him again?" Her words were hopeful, but I could tell she doubted that it was a possibility.

"While I can't say for certain, what I can tell you is that if it were up to me, he'd be waiting for you on the other side."

She smiled at me, standing up slowly as I rose with her. Placing a grateful kiss on my cheek, she giggled. "You know, you're quite the bard. Has anyone ever told you that you should be a writer?"

I had to struggle not to laugh out loud. "It's been mentioned once or twice," I replied. "So you've made your decision then?"

She nodded, walking straight to the stunned Lamb and falling to her knees before her. Lamb was unsure of what just happened. This was not the way her reapings typically went. People went with bitter resentment and ill will towards her and her brother, but now...this woman's face was so tranquil. "I choose the arrow."

Lamb's sapphire blue eyes shimmered, drawing back the bow's string and placing the arrow at the musician's temple. One shot would be all it took, faster than the blink of an eye and cleaner than a summer's rain. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and released, causing Sona's form to vanish into nothingness.

"How'd I do?" I asked Lamb, rejoining her side. "Was that alright?"

"I've never seen such a thing before," she admitted in admiration. "You were able to put that poor girl into a peaceful rest with nothing more than words. I was not aware that was even possible."

I nodded. "Everyone's life is a story, and nothing is more unsatisfying than a story without an ending. In a way, I suppose I was always one of the Kindred. Just like you, I provide people with the ending they need. Where to next?"

Lamb smiled at me, hugging my arm and nuzzling against my shoulder. "If it's all the same, I'd like to hear that story again. Part of me wishes I'd kept all of your stories."

"Very well, Mistress Lamb." I teased. "When Sona was just a little girl, every night before she went to bed at the orphanage, she could remember looking up at the moon and seeing the shapes of shadows. The most common of these was, of course, the Man in the Moon…"

* * *

Nidalee's head hung low on the train. She couldn't even begin to look up at the two other women who sat aboard the train. "Nidalee…" Caitlyn began.

"Shut up. This is your fault." Her words were but a hiss. "Why did you have to laugh at him?"

"You can't tell me that it didn't sound ridiculous." Vi chimed in. "The guy was _crazy_. He thought that he was from another world and that we were all storybook characters! I don't understand why you are so hung up on him. Is it because he looks like Kiba?"

"At first, maybe it was." Nidalee reasoned. "But then, he showed me things...things he couldn't have possibly seen or known without having written them himself. He wasn't Kiba, I know that. I've known that since we first left Piltover. But...I tried to tell him that just because he wasn't _our_ Kiba, didn't mean that he wasn't _a_ Kiba. I just can't help it. Whenever I see him, that's the name that comes to mind."

"You can't just call people whatever you like, Nidalee." Caitlyn explained. "It hurts their feelings if you don't use the name they like. He obviously wanted you to refer to him as Josh instead of Kiba. He's even said before he doesn't enjoy being compared to him."

"But that's because he doesn't think he's good enough to be compared to him! But that's not true at all. He deserves to know that he isn't worthless. He isn't nothing! Now he's dead and it's all because we didn't believe him."

A silence fell over the train car as it came to a slightly jerky halt in front of the train station. As the doors opened, the three of them stepped out, their heads hung low. "Hey everyone." I called, causing them to perk up in surprise. I waved to them from the bench, Sona's head perched on my lap, her arms folded politely over her chest. There wasn't any blood anymore. Lamb had seen to that. Now she was just a peaceful shell of what she once was.

"Kiba!" Nidalee cried in excitement, running to me. "Wait...are you…?"

"It's me." I assured her. "The crazy one that jumps off trains and talks to Kindred." I gave them a weak smile before gesturing towards the woman on the bench. "I'm afraid that he's struck again...twice." I sighed, gently running my hand over her hair. "Kindred told me that in addition to Sona, Garen Crownguard has been killed by our shooter, which tells us a great deal of things."

Vi and Caitlyn stood, mouths agape. "That's impossible, we saw you jump…" Vi muttered. "Caitlyn, what's going on here? This guy...he's not human."

"I'm right here." I griped, carefully slipping out from under the Maven's head and slowly setting it on the bench. "Sorry Caitlyn, the bullet hole has been healed, but as I said, I've learned a lot of things."

"Like what?" She questioned, still skeptical to the fact I managed to survive a fall from a train _and_ beat them back to Piltover.

"He doesn't have any limits to movement. He can strike anywhere at any time. That or there are multiple shooters. In addition, he is only targeting champions that have some semblance of a relationship with my characters. That means that with Garen, Sona, Vi, and Ekko dead there are only a handful of others that can be ended. The big one is Ahri. For some reason or another he doesn't target my characters directly, only by proximity."

"That's a lot of evidence to glean solely from talking to a ficti-err...an unbelievable source. Somehow, I doubt that the courts will be able to indict anyone based on that sort of testimony." Caitlyn suggested, causing me to rub my chin in thought.

"Well, unfortunately, I'm not allowed to travel with you any further. But I still need your help. Vi, please make arrangements for Sona's body to be sent back to her family. Caitlyn, I need you to find any information you can on an assassin named 'Jhin'. I have a feeling he's our guy. Nidalee, I need you to get to Ionia and convince Ahri and Riven to go into hiding. They're in grave danger. If you have to prioritize one of them, Ahri is your main focus."

"Wait, wait, wait," Caitlyn held up her hands to slow me down. "Where the Hell are you going? Don't tell me you're going after this guy all on your own. You're not a fighter, you won't be able to take on a man who's dropping champions left and right like flies."

"I've got a secret weapon," I smirked. "Just trust me, please. When you have information Caitlyn, I want you to get into hiding. I'm afraid you too are a possible target for this guy. I'll stop by when I can to check in with you."

"You're leaving again?" Nidalee asked dejectedly. "Are you still upset that I call you Kiba? Because I'm really sorry about it all. I don't want you to feel like you have to leave because of it."

"Well…" I murmured, "it's actually because I owe someone a debt." I nodded behind them, causing the three to turn to see Lamb standing there bashfully. "Everyone, meet half of Kindred. This is Lamb."

"H-hello." She meekly greeted them with a slight wave. Vi suddenly felt very weak in the knees as she slumped over. "It's nice to m-meet you."

Walking to her side, I grasped her hand to comfort her. "She's a little shy, but she's the reason I've stayed alive all this time."

"Ho...ly...shit." Caitlyn gasped, taking a nervous step back from the personification of death itself. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Kindreds real...there's actually a Kindred. Is Wolf around here somewhere as well?" She nervously gripped her rifle, as if she feared she'd have to use it on them.

"He's...somewhere else." I explained bashfully. "He doesn't really like me much."

"Half of Kindred likes you, the other half dislikes you. That's got to make things stressful." Vi chuckled. She was starting to question her sanity at this point. "Look, I know this is hard to believe, but I really do need your help. So will you help me?"

The three of them looked at one another, before Nidalee smiled. "We're in."

* * *

Jhin let out a frustrated sigh as he slung his gun down onto the ground. Walking to the wall where dozens of strings and tacks were strung, he quickly crossed out another portrait of a champion. So far Sona, Garen, and Vi had been eliminated. The young time boy was a convenient coincidence, even if the timeline had been altered to prevent his death. But something was still bothering him.

Ever since the voices began instructing him, he'd felt like someone else was providing resistance. When he saw Vi, a woman whom he knew personally that he'd eliminated die, he ended up running into her again while pursuing the voice's instructions in Zaun. His original target was meant to be Twitch, but instead, he had bumped into the time boy. The voices ended up telling him that it didn't matter, the time boy was a more than adequate substitute.

Things had begun to become even stranger as well. Events would repeat themselves or disappear altogether, as if the things he'd done had never happened or were happening multiple times or on the rare occasion, both. "Jhin." The voice echoed in his mind once more, causing the marksman to instinctively look towards the board.

Whenever the voice spoke, things became far clearer to him. There was so much ugliness in the world that needed to make way for true beauty. Each shot he made was a masterpiece in its own right and it would rid the world of the ugliness that had tainted it.

Lifting his hand, he ran his fingers along the pictures until they came to a stop over Syndra. So he'd be returning to Ionia it seemed. He immediately took the gun from where he'd dropped it, ensuring it was loaded and ready to go. Closing his eyes, he waited for the voice to continue speaking to him as it usually did. It simply stated, "Meanwhile, in Ionia…"

In a flash, Jhin felt the stinging snow on his cheeks and he found himself standing on the precipice of the Floating Fortress. Pulling back his gun's hammer, he stepped forward, placing his hand to the door and slipping inside. He began to walk slowly, his feet falling as soft as air, unable to be heard even in the old castle.

Climbing the steps, he began to swiftly clear each and every room looking for his quarry. There were two inside, the voices told him, but only the woman need be eliminated. The man would soon follow shortly after. Reaching the final room, he took a deep breath. Often the targets he pursued were with a man when they were eliminated, which meant that perhaps the two were...indisposed. If that were the case it'd make his work much easier.

Raising his leg, he kicked the doors in, immediately firing a shot straight in front of him. The pillow on the bed exploded into a cloud of feathers that filled the air before slowly sinking back down to the earth. Something was wrong, something had changed. His target was supposed to be here, but...then why was the house empty? He let out an inarticulate scream of rage, grabbing an end table and hurling it through the window to fall far below.

Despite his tantrum, it did little to help his mood. He collapsed with a frustrated cry on to the bed, placing the back of his hand on to his head. "They should have been here. The fact they are not means that someone has moved them." The voice whispered in his head. "You just have to think about _who_ could move them."

"They could have moved themselves." Jhin muttered back.

"Unlikely. People are creatures of habit. They do not often just act out of habit for the sake of doing so. They develop routines, tells, weaknesses. You can find those weaknesses. You just need to locate Syndra's."

"She doesn't have one."

"She has one." The voice corrected.

Both at the same time uttered the name that popped into Jhin's head. "Ren." Looking to the door, the assassin stood slowly leaving the fortress and returning to his cell where he normally was kept. The foolish guards never even knew he was gone.

Reaching under his bed, he retrieved a book titled 'Worlds Apart, Separate Ways' and began flipping through the pages. If there were a way to trap either the man or the woman, it would be listed in here. Finally, his finger came to rest at a passage detailing his family life. Family was always the weakness somewhere down the line. Sure enough, this one's weakness lay in Piltover, much like many of his targets.

If Jhin was the caring sort, he'd find it oddly coincidental that such an occurrence had happened, but instead he began making plans on how to best eliminate his target. "Why?" He asked the voices once again, though he knew the answer. It was the same answer they always gave.

"Kiba."

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

Manifesto Ch. 11

 **AN: Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long. I've been doing some work on a lot of other original side projects, namely my new original novels that I'm in the process of writing/editing. I still intend to keep writing fanfiction, so there's no need to panic. To help you guys come to terms with my slower posting speeds, I have presented lemons. Don't forget to leave a review and fave/follow the story! -Kiba**

As the group parted ways again, I let out an immediate sigh of relief as time once more paused around Lamb and I. "God, that was scary," I gasped, "I thought that Caitlyn for sure would have seen right through that."

The fluffy, white, aspect of death simply smiled knowingly. "So my plan was effective then? By revealing myself to them, they were too shocked to think critically of your instructions. So, loving servant, what is your actual plan?"

Turning away from her, I boarded the train with her following in my wake. "I...don't have one."

She frowned. "What do you mean 'you don't have one'?"

"Exactly what I said. I don't have a plan. There are some things I'm still trying to piece together."

"About the killer?"

"About me."

As time returned and train began to slowly pull from the station, her eyes focused on mine with a deep intensity. "What's to piece together?" Her voice was stranger now. It wasn't the sweet and gentle one I'd heard before. This one was one of annoyance and frustration.

"Some things have been bothering me; things that don't make any sense. First off, what in the world brought me here and why? In my world, these are just stories that I've written, so people couldn't really 'kill' my characters. On top of that, I'm separated forever from my friends, my family...from Remy. I should be torn up. I should be in a state of agony, but I'm completely calm and tranquil. Something is wrong, either with me or this world, but either way _something is wrong_." Every word that came from my mouth caused her eyes to become even more stern as she finally just turned from me in a huff, marching towards the back of the train. "Lamb?" I chased after her, but she just began moving faster. Did she know something that I didn't?

I began to jog after her, but she kept running, until the point we were both at a full sprint. Surprisingly, I was able to catch up to her before pouncing and taking her to the ground, sending her mask skittering across the polished floor beneath the empty rows of seats. "Release me," she demanded coldly.

"No," I snapped back, "not until you tell me what is going on!"

Turning over to face me, I straddled her waist, pinning her to the ground. The hands on her wrist could feel her soft fleece beneath them, but she still said nothing, simply staring up into my eyes. That was when I realized that I hadn't been utterly stunned by her appearance anymore. Was I building up a resistance?

"Something _is_ happening to me," I murmured, completely dazed, "and you know what it is." The look in her eyes was all I needed. "What is happening to me, Lamb?"

"Mistress-"

"No, damn it! Enough games! I don't care how cute or beautiful you are, I want to know what's wrong with me and why I'm so fucked up! Why don't I care about my life?" Her eyes softened slightly watching as my chest rose and fell in frustration. "It doesn't make any sense. In my world, I couldn't even _talk_ to a girl who was cute. When people were angry at me and started shouting, I'd shut down and I couldn't even defend myself. I don't _fight!_ I don't chase down bad guys! I don't even do anything worthwhile except for write stories on some stupid website because I need something, _anything_ to convince me that I'm not just a waste of space!"

"The answer is a simple one," she replied. "Release me. Please."

"Just tell me what's wrong with me!"

She averted her eyes from mine in thought. "Nothing is wrong with _you_ ," she finally stated, though her emphasis caused a shudder to run up my spine. "I don't want to tell you why you feel this way, because if I do, it will most certainly upset you."

"Why do you even care?" I snapped, my tears falling to stain her snow white flesh. "You're an aspect of death. You're supposed to be cold and merciless, so why do you care?"

Turning back towards me, there was now an expression of pain there in her gaze. "You're the first person to tell me I am cute," she explained. "In a way, I was created solely for you. I may be an aspect of death, but many times I have even pondered the reason for my own existence. This is not a problem that is solely possessed by yourself."

"Just tell me…" I pleaded.

"Under one condition," she agreed. "You must do two things: firstly, you must tell me how you feel about me. Secondly, you must prove that that's how you feel."

"Fine."

She smiled softly as my hands left her wrists, though I still remained seated on her. Now free of my grip, she reached upwards, stroking my cheek with her soft hand. I couldn't help myself anymore and I held it there, seeking comfort in her touch. "You are not Joshua Roberts."

"Wh-what?"

"I apologize, that is inaccurate. You are not the _real_ Joshua Roberts, as you know him. Think carefully for a moment. You have memories of your life, anything else?"

"I...I don't know…"

"When you think about Remy, what do you feel?"

My body was trembling now as my heart pounded fiercely against my rib cage. "N-nothing. I don't feel anything," I muttered, becoming more frightened by the second.

She nodded in understanding. "What about other things from your past? The feeling you had when your first story became popular. What about a past birthday or the moment you graduated from High school? What do you feel about those?"

"Nothing," I repeated, my eyes now pouring tears down. "I don't feel anything."

"That's because they are not _your_ memories. Not truly, at least."

My heart sank. "I don't exist…"

"That is wrong."

"No, it's not! I'm not real, Lamb! If what you say is true, then that means that I'm not real!"

" _Yes, you are,"_ she enunciated clearly. "You are very real. You are just not real in _his_ world. But in mine, you are most certainly, without a doubt, real."

"It's not the same," I whimpered.

For a moment, she said nothing. "It's your turn."

"What?"

"You must uphold your end of the bargain. You agreed."

I shook my head, still reeling from her news. "What's even the point?"

"Because you gave me your word that you would…"

I took a deep breath before nodding. "Fine. Fine, I'll tell you how I really feel, I…" I paused for a moment, staring deeply into the glowing blue hues. "I…" Her expression was unchanging. It was a mix of impatience and yet, excitement. My heart thumped once, then twice as her lips curled into a soft smile. My heart skipped a beat, pounding faster than before. "I...love you?" The words felt alien on lips, but that was the answer that had come to me. "But...that's…"

She nodded her head. "You do love me, _loving human_. And, I love you. I may have jumped the gun when I said so, but I do love you." Her palm continued to stroke my cheek affectionately. "You do not miss Remy, because you do not love her. You do not miss your old life because it was not _your_ life."

"But...if I'm not Joshua Roberts...who am I?"

"You still have not held up your end of the bargain."

"You want me to show you that I love you?"

She nodded eagerly, her smile hardly fading. Leaning down towards her, I kissed her. She responded in kind and as we parted, she tilted her head confused. "No...I don't think that's proof enough."

"Lamb, what do you want…Oh…" My heart pounded as her smiled became even bigger. "W-well, I mean...Lamb, I can't just...cause I'm...you know...abstinent…"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"What do you mean, 'nope'? That's not up to you," I huffed. "I'm telling you, I'm abstinent, I"m not…"

"The _real_ Joshua Roberts is abstinent. You, however, have no obligation to be so."

"Well...I mean, I suppose...no! Hold on, this is way too fast! You can't just expect me to…" The look of impatience returned to her face with a huff. "What is that look for?"

"Clearly, you don't feel how you said, which means that I won't tell you anything else."

"Anything _else_? There's more?"

She smirked. "Oh, yes. Volumes."

"Look, I love you. I told you that, but this is embarrassing," I finally muttered blushing. "If what you're saying is true, that means that he's writing down everything. Our...umm...you know...the entire world is going to read it."

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes, that's a problem!"

"Why? It's not our world. It's not as if they can pop on over here and mock you or anything. Besides, I don't mind."

I covered my face with my hands. "Lamb, I really don't want to…"

"That's a lie. You do."

"Lamb, stop saying things like…"

"You're still sitting on top of me." Taking my hands in hers, she brought them, rather forcefully, to her breasts before I could react. It was an odd sensation, the supple yet petite flesh covered by a layer of fleece.

Against my will, my hands began to move, enjoying the feeling of her fur between my digits. I caressed and massaged her, trying to comprehend what I was doing. Did Kindred have some sort of...mind control? No, that didn't make sense. "You know, this could be considered molestation," I grumbled.

"Perhaps, but I happen to know that you're into that sort of thing."

My cheeks reddened even more. "And how exactly do you know that?!"

She bit her lip, her eyes closing slightly to indicate she was enjoying my touch. "I know a lot of things about you," she insisted, "like how you have a fetish for feeding people or being fed. Or making love in some sort of water. Or cunnilingus. Or..."

"Okay, okay. Please, stop. Someone's going to hear you."

She leaned upward to place a loving kiss on my lips, her hands leaving mine to wrap around my neck and draw me into it. My will began to crumble, as I turned my head slightly, and the two of us began making out. My tongue slipped between her lips, causing her to stifle a giggle before she reciprocated.

Tugging away from her in a moment of clarity, I said, "This is still really fast Lamb. I mean, you didn't even know what love is when we first met. How can you be so sure about this?"

She smiled pleasantly, nuzzling under my chin. "It's obvious, really. You're not the real Joshua, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. The reason I got so excited after reading Manifesto is because, I knew why I was made and I know why you're made."

"Which is…?"

"I can't say why you were made. It'll cause too many problems. However, I can say the reason I'm made is to love you and to give you someone to love. As you know, Josh is quite the romantic. It wouldn't make any sense for him to write you and not give you a love of your own."

"But why you? Why not make a Remy or another Ahri or something else? Why you, specifically? There must be a reason he chose you, right?"

Lamb fell silent, contemplating it for a moment in deep thought. "I'm...not sure why he chose me." A somber tone overtook her entire expression as tears began to well up in her eyes. Staring into mine, she sniffled, "I'm sorry if you wanted someone else."

"Of course not! I just...I don't understand is all. How can I possibly just accept all of this? I'm not real? I don't exist?"

She frowned, setting her chin on my chest and just laying there. "I thought you told that girl with the hat that they were real to you…"

"Well that was obviously before I realized that I'm not really who I thought I was," I replied, running my hand through her hair absently as I wrapped an arm around her waist. "Now, while you're all still real to me, who knows what the real Josh thinks."

"It's...hard to explain," she began. "He's like a God...sort of. Not that he thinks he's one, but he has a perspective of things that you and I can't comprehend. I think stories are a little like machines. Each character, place, and event has a small part of a much greater story that none of them can possibly comprehend. Even still, does that change the validity of those pieces?" Noting that I was still not pleased, she crawled further on top of me to look me in the eyes. Placing one of her hands on my collar bone, the two of us stared deeply into one another. "What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?"

"You have that much faith in him?"

"Yes. Because I know he's a lot like you and I know that that means he's worth putting my faith into," she answered, just as I pulled her into a loving kiss. She gratefully kissed me back before pushing me down on my back with a grin. "You're done with questions, yes?"

I sighed and nodded in surrender. She squealed happily, leaping forward to straddle my face. Immediately, I was assailed by the intoxicating scent of her arousal, which smelled greatly of cherries. Muffled by her thighs, I realized what she wanted and so, I slowly and gently began to tease her with my tongue. Running along her slit which was concealed by the fur that grew around it, I found that her taste matched that of her scent.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she supportively patted my head to indicate she was pleased. I actually found it cute how awkward she was at attempting to be dirty, and as such, I continued to run the tip of my tongue along her folds before flicking her clit playfully.

Her hips moved, sliding up and down my chin and coating me with the sticky fluid that dripped from it. Now, even I was becoming excited by her eagerness as my hands ran along her fit thighs to reach her rump. Her small tail flitted excitedly as I pulled her further towards me, my eyes unable to tear from her body as I began to dig my tongue inside of her.

Soon, I was insatiable as I lapped at her, losing my thoughts to the mesmerising fruity taste. "Oh, loving human…" she moaned, though it seemed forced in an attempt to spur me on. Regardless, it worked before I rolled over, forcing her on her back and putting myself on all fours so I could properly ravage her pussy.

Now her moans had become involuntary, our new position allowing me to begin thrusting faster and harder into her body with my tongue. I couldn't even begin to fathom how or why she could possibly taste so sweet, but looking up at her, I slid my tongue in as deep as I could before wrapping my lips around her clit.

With a high-pitched squeal she bucked her hips, releasing another torrential wave of cherry-flavored cum into my open mouth. The viscosity began to cause her fur to press matted against her flesh as I continued to clean it, but with a rather painful tug on my hair, she pulled me from her delicious quim.

Noting my slight hiss of pain, she immediately released me with an apologetic and sheepish grin, before mouthing 'I love you'.

"I love you, too," I replied back before giving her clit one last kiss goodbye and crawling slowly up her body to leave a trail of sticky kisses where I could. Her arm slid between my legs to fondle me as our eyes met once more, only for them to close simultaneously as we kissed.

She seemed pleasantly surprised by the taste, sucking on my tongue and lips before gently licking my cheeks to clean me of her cum. Part of my mind struggled against this, but I knew that was just the remnants of my false memories as I worked to remove my pants.

Soon, I'd managed to retrieve my hard member and as she wrapped her thighs around me, I placed my tip against her. I paused, appreciating the irony that I was about to take Death's virginity of all things, not to mention losing my own to her. She protested my stalling with a slight nibble on my ear before purring, "Stick it in me, okay?"

Later, I decided, we'd discuss dirty talk, but for now all I could do is press myself inside of her. Her body tightened up as my own slowly invaded her. "Lamb, you need to loosen up, love."

She smiled warmly at being called love, before her brow furrowed and she flicked my nose. "Bad human, " she giggled, "it's Mistress Lamb." She then kissed my nose and added, "But okay." Soon, her grip on me loosened, allowing me to proceed further into her.

"Sorry, Mistress Lamb," I apologized, kissing her throat as she held my body tightly. I can't even begin to explain the feeling of having her fingers gripping desperately onto to my shirt as the two of us attempted to force ourselves into the same spot of existence. Our pants joined one another in a melodious chorus when I finally managed to slip myself all the way in. Realizing I would go no deeper, her body quickly retightened, causing me to gasp in shock. "L-lamb?"

"Mistress Lamb," she repeated, "and now that I have you, you'll just have to stay like this for a while." I went to pull out in protest, but she clamped down even tighter, an uncomfortable heat flooding my hard member and her thighs ensuring that I was properly ensnared. She seemed to enjoy watching me struggle, unable to hide the look of pure bliss on my face as her incredible tightness squeezed and rubbed my sensitive flesh.

I began to actually make some progress, to her surprise as the two of us warred. Myself trying to pull out and her trying to keep me in. Just as I got to my tip however, my mind exploded in pleasure and I had to shove my hands out to prevent collapsing on her. Well, if I couldn't beat her, I decided I would join her and so, taking advantage of her muscled grip, I thrust back into her, causing her eyes to widen with a surprised moan that echoed through the empty train car.

With her muscles released, I seized the opportunity to draw back farther until she realized what I was doing and clamped down once more, only allowing me to thrust back into her. I could feel her claws sink slightly into my flesh through the fabric as she continued to trail moans and pants.

A bead of sweat rolled from my temple down my cheek as I set up a rhythm of thrusting that soon caused her to stop attempting to manipulate whether or not I'd stay inside of her. Instead, she simply flopped on her back, going limp so that she could better enjoy my maddening invasion of her pussy.

Her ecstasy was driving her insane as her mouth remained agape, unable to decide if she wished to moan, call my name, or encourage me further. My lips roughly crashed against hers so that our tongues could tangle with one another's in a mindless attempt at romance, while our bodies carnal desires guided our hips to pound against one another's as we tried to hold on to our rationality.

She soon came for me again, her hands running from my back to tangle in my hair and roughly tug me to her breast where I found her nipple and began to suckle her. Despite the petiteness of her breasts beneath the fur, I found that she was actually lactating to my surprise. I swallowed it, her milky cream also being slightly imbued with the taste of cherries.

Shoving me on to my back, thus causing me to go even deeper, she sat up, pinning me down with her strength so she could ride me as fast as she liked. Every movement of her muscle brought me one step closer to cumming for her, though I wasn't even sure if I wanted to finish in her or not. I didn't exactly know if she could become pregnant from me, and I doubted she knew either.

So I contentedly placed my hands on her breasts, using my fingers to milk her like a true lamb. Holding my tongue out, I moaned as the warm liquid splashed on it and my face. I was shocked by just how crazy I was making things and how little I cared.

As her surprisingly light body continued to rise and fall on me, I knew I was at my end so I sat up, her grip having released me, and giving her lips one last kiss, I whispered, "I'm about to cum."

With one last rough drop, she tightened around me as much as she could as my spasming cock sprayed ribbons of pearly alabaster seed inside of steaming folds. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure as she soon washed it away completely by cumming herself and utterly soaking both of our crotches.

Collapsing forward on to my chest, she and I couldn't stop panting as we held one another there. Our hearts were pounding, our lungs were burning, our bodies were exhausted, and yet I couldn't help but be thrilled that I was basking in the glow of her love and affection. Looking behind me, I chuckled and reached beneath the seat to retrieve her mask.

Deciding to tease her, I put it on just as she opened her eyes. "How do I look?" I asked, just before my eyes widened as she clamped down and came again, almost instantly.

"Oh G-gods!" she moaned, "What did you just do?"

"N-nothing!" Another intense orgasm rocketed through her body, and I began to become very concerned. I'd heard of an illness that makes a person's body highly susceptible to orgasm, which sounds wonderful in theory, but it begins to come around to verge of being painful. "L-lamb!"

"S-stop!" She cried out, unable to control her body as she came again. "J-just stop whatever you're doing."

"I'm not…" My sentence was interrupted by another orgasm from her as she collapsed in exhaustion. My mind reeled at the realization of what had caused it. When I spoke with the mask on, it caused her to cum. Just as she'd managed to regain her breath, I decided to test my theory. "Cum." I stated, causing her body to ripple in pleasure.

She let out a low mewl as she struggled to regain her strength. "J-josh," she whined, "what's happening to me? I'm…I'm scared."

Carefully taking off her mask, I tilted her chin up to kiss her. "Don't be. Apparently if I wear your mask and talk, it makes your body orgasm. I don't know why though."

"I d-d-do," she stammered. "That mask is a c-construct of my entire being. When you talk, you're making it v-v-vibrate while on your face." Curious, I held her mask in one hand before slowly running my finger along the inside of it. Her face softened, as she moaned again, as if every caress was affecting her atom by atom. Was that why they were slain when their masks were destroyed?

"Does that feel good?" I teased, using my other hand to scratch beneath her chin. She nodded her head yes, nuzzling against me like she were a pet wanting further attention. Well, I had every intention of giving it to her. Stroking her mask again, her back arched, causing her to push our pelvises together once again.

Already, I was starting to become aroused again by the thought of having my own little remote control for my darling Lamb. Smiling, I placed her mask back on. Running my fingers along her spine, she purred, unable to decide in which direction she wished to press against my touch. Extending my tongue, I slowly ran it over the finely polished wood causing her to moan out for me.

Sitting up, I lifted her in my arms. She wrapped her around my neck to cling to me as I carried her to the door of the train. I began to pump into her over and over again as my hard cock begged me to make her mine over and over again.

She was ecstatic about the prospect, her lips kissing the outside of the mask where mine were. Surprisingly, I could actually feel my own tingling through it, as if wearing it made me feel through the outside. Her fingers tangled themselves on whatever they could grip on my person as her breasts rose and fell while she bounced on my hard shaft. I decided to pay her back for the way she'd squeezed down on my tip earlier and thrusting deep inside of her, I ran my tongue along the mask and hummed at the same time.

She let out a loud screech as she came harder than she ever had before falling limp in my arms. She could barely hold her head up she was so weak from pleasure. Pulling from her, I slowly lowered her to the ground, her legs not even able to keep her standing.

Tilting the mask up to rest on top of my head, I tugged playfully on her ears, pulling her towards my still hard member. Staring up at me and panting heavily, she seemed to understand and carefully she began to lick the sides of it, cleaning the cum from it with soft and happy moans. "Oh, Lamb…" I moaned, stroking her affectionately, "that feels wonderful."

That seemed to spur her on as she smiled and began to more actively clean my cock of cum. Her hand stroked my thigh, cupping my balls and massaging them before she sucked softly on them, humming while she did so. It felt wonderful, and I had to prop myself up against the door to avoid collapsing on top of her.

Finally, she released them from her soft lips, glistening with her saliva as she looked into my eyes, seeking approval. I gave it to her with a reassuring scratch behind the ears that brought a pink tinge to her cheeks before her lips parted once more, this time to wrap around my cock.

She began to bob up and down slowly, her gaze never leaving mine as she continued humming into my flesh. I could feel every subtle vibration and every loving caress of her hot, slippery, tongue.

Her hand crept between her own legs to stroke her pussy, filled with cum and dripping uncontrollably on the floor. She had a lot of stamina, clearly, and still she fingered herself while moaning around my cock.

Going down even lower, she took my cock straight to the back of her beautiful mouth so that it slid into her throat. Being Death, she didn't truly need air, so she just kept me there, sucking and gurgling on me in an attempt to make me cum one more time. It worked, too.

Pulling her back slightly, I came hard, flooding her mouth with jizz and causing it to burst from her lips, regardless of how hard she tried to keep it in. Pulling out with a plop, I came again, the drops of spunk that fell upon her hair and breasts, quickly fading in with the white fur.

She swallowed before sticking out her tongue to show me with a giggle. I couldn't believe that we'd just fucked. Not even just once, but multiple times. "That was wonderful," she sighed.

"Yeah," I agreed.

She smiled as I sat down beside her with a chuckle, nuzzling against her. "I think I may keep your semen on me a little longer. It feels nice and warm, and it smells like you." As creepy as it sounded, I actually couldn't help but turn a bright red from the adorableness she displayed.

"What...the...fuck?!" A voice snapped in rage, causing us to both look up to see Wolf, his claws leaving scratches in the steel bottom of the train car on the other side. "Step away from my sister, you monster!" He snarled. "I swear to you, I'll rip out your heart!"

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

Manifesto Ch. 12

"I'll fucking kill you," Wolf snarled, creeping closer to the two of us as we leaned against one another.

"Wolf," Lamb began but with a roar, he cut her off.

"Silence! You will come to my side, now!" His sister glared at him for a moment before silently standing, and moving to take her place beside him.

"Lamb?" I asked puzzled.

"Do not say her name. You have no right," Wolf barked. "You have ruined her purity, her innocence. I don't know what magic you use to manipulate her, but you will release her or else you will die."

"I'm not manipulating her! Tell him, Lamb! Tell him I'm not controlling you."

She said nothing, staring at her feet as Wolf placed himself between us. Why wasn't she sticking up for me? Why was she letting him think this. "This game ends here," he stated. "Consider your debt paid. You will not see us again. If you try to summon us by pulling the same stunt as before, you _will_ answer the question. Come on, Lamb." As he turned to pad away, she followed after him.

I lay there, speechless. Emotions boiled inside of me in utter confusion. I was angry. I was angry that Lamb didn't stick up for me. I was angry that I'd been so stupid and weak as to give in to my urges. Worst of all, I was angry that Lamb had manipulated me to get what she wanted, and once she did, she abandoned me. I was all alone on this train, completely nude. I had nothing: no friends, no lover, no dignity.

So I did what I always did. Standing up, I grabbed my clothes and redressed, throwing myself eagerly back into the world as a distraction from all of the things that were wrong. Just as I slipped my shirt back over my head, the sound of the door opening behind me, made my heart race. Lamb? Had she come back?

Turning, I found myself staring at a masked man clutching a pistol that was now pointed at me. As if things couldn't get any worse. "You must be Jhin," I stated. "Here to kill another original character? Jokes on you, I don't have anyone connected to my story."

"You're hardly what I'd call original," he countered coldly, stepping closer to me. "Tell me where Syndra is...now." He added the last statement with a click of the hammer, aiming it straight between my eyes.

"What makes you think I know?"

"Because I know who you are."

"That's a relief, because I sure as Hell don't."

His silence was unnerving as he simply stood there gun raised. I could feel him boring a hole through me with his gaze as he tried to contemplate what to do. "Do you think I will not shoot you?" he finally asked.

"I don't think you can," I replied. "Thus far you haven't killed any of the other original characters directly. There must be a reason for that. Either you can't or you won't. I'm willing to bet it's the former. You don't strike me as the patient type."

He cocked his head to the side slightly as if he were listening to something far away before closing his eyes and nodding. "It has told me to ask you what it is you have in your hands."

Many questions arose as I glanced down to see I was still holding on to Lamb's mask. She'd left it? Why would she do that? "None of your business," I stated after realizing why he'd asked. "Now my turn for questions. Who or what is 'it'?"

He sneered at me. "He is the voice that speaks to me in my dreams and nightmares. He is both my muse and my creator. The thing that gives me life and chooses to bring death to those who deserve it."

"Deserve it?!" I snarled angrily. "Is that what you call it? Ekko, Vi, Garen, Sona...they all deserved to die?"

He let out an icy chuckle. "No, they were collateral damage."

"The OC's? Don't get me wrong, Thane's an asshat, but the others? Now you're going after Ren? Why? What's your end-game?" I silently tucked the mask into my back waist-band. He wouldn't be destroying me too.

He seemed to daze off again before snapping back to attention. "I see. This is where you expect me to do as most villains do, yes? I simply monologue my entire plan to you, then you barely escape by the skin of your teeth only to foil me with the information I've provided. I'm sorry to say, it's not that sort of story." Before I could even react, he pulled the trigger, causing a concussive boom to echo through the train car.

As the bullet raced towards me, faster than the eyes could track, something welled up from the air around me. A golden light arced forward, blocking the bullet and causing it to drop harmlessly to the ground below. I was stunned by just how close I had come to death. This was the second time the golden light had saved me. This time I'd seen it: a tiny face, smiling at me from the light before it was dispelled by the bullet.

My eyes drifted upward to see Jhin aghast by what he'd just witnessed. "Impossible," he murmured. "It said you could be killed."

"I…" My words caught in my throat as I backed away from the madman. Who was he speaking to?! "I won't tell you where Syndra is," I finally said, finding bravery from deep inside. With that, I opened the back door to the train cart, shutting it in front of me as Jhin began to rush towards me.

"I will kill you!" he shouted through the door as I quickly turned and hopped to the next car. I wasn't willing to risk that chance as he slid open the cabin, firing wildly at me. I quickly grasped Lamb's mask, protecting it with my body. Even if he couldn't shoot me, I had the feeling that if Lamb died, I too would disappear. Worse...if she died, the whole world would disappear. No one could die, and everyone's story in a way ends with death.

Another bullet raced towards me, the golden face moving quickly to interrupt its trajectory. I was sprinting as fast as I could through the carts. If could make it to the front of the train, perhaps I could barricade myself in the engine room. Blam! Another bullet, deflected away from me.

I could hear Jhin swearing behind me as I continue to tear through the rail cars. That was when I realized that the people inside of the cars were all frozen. Time was still stopped! How was Jhin able to move?

Coming to the next car, there was a larger gap. Using my momentum as a running start, I jumped as far as I could, barely making it to the next platform. As I turned, he fired a fourth shot, causing the bullet to stop just short of my nose. I was certain for a moment that my heart had stopped, but I didn't have time to do the same.

Finally I reached the engine room, only to find it locked. Looking around frantically, I caught a glimpse to my side. There! Frozen beside the train was the mail hook. If I grabbed on to it, I'd be able to swing to the ground to safety and find somewhere to hide. Just as I turned, thanking my lucky stars time was frozen, another bullet was fired from Jhin's gun.

This one, however, grazed my shoulder, tearing the flesh away and causing me to spin and tumble off of the train. My right hand reached out, snagging onto the mail hook at the last second, just as the world roared into action again, sending the train racing off without me. I grit my teeth in pain as I felt the small gash on my shoulder being torn by gravity while my other hand clung to Lamb's mask, until finally the entire train was gone and I fell with a disgraceful thud to the earth.

As blood oozed from my arm, I slowly got to my knees. I'd never been shot before, but the burning sensation that filled my arm was pretty reminiscent to how I'd imagined it. I examined the mask to ensure it was safe, only for my biggest fear to come to fruition. Right near the top, the wood had cracked, running to just below the eyes. "Oh no…Lamb." I let out a grunt of pain again as I looked around wildly.

There was no sign of either of them. Where could they have gone?

* * *

The clock on the wall of Ahri's home ticked away slowly as she sat there, a blanket draped over her, nursing one of her newly-born infants while Riven helped to bottle feed the other. "So, let me see if I understand this correctly. Everything in the world is a lie, created and written by some twenty something year old who somehow was transported into the world he created. Now someone's going around killing the characters he made, including Kal?"

Nidalee shyly twiddled her thumbs. "That's about the jist of it."

Riven let out a sigh as the small boy in her arms began to whine pitifully. "Trade?" she asked Ahri, who nodded, swapping out the two twins. They had a pretty good head for time since they did this ever ten minutes like clockwork. Taking the young girl from Ahri's arms, Riven tickled her stomach with a smile before looking back towards the strange visitor clad in pelts. "I'm still not sure I follow. How do you know Kal again?"

Nidalee let out a huff. "He saved me once in Kalamundu. I only vaguely remember it, but Kiba...I mean Josh, remembers it pretty accurately. I mean, he wrote it after all." A silence filled the room as she quickly spoke up. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important. Your lives, both of them, are in danger! There's a man named Jhin who is coming to…"

"Did you say 'Jhin'?" Riven gasped, nearly dropping the baby from her lap before catching her again with a sigh of relief. "I thought that psychopath was dead."

"You _know_ him?!" Nidalee cried in shock, causing Riven to be taken aback. "What can you tell me about him? Anything at all would be helpful!"

Ahri glanced to her friend, an obvious look of concern on her face. "Riven?"

"You've nothing to be worried about," she quickly informed her, squeezing her hand comfortingly. "During the Ionian conflict with Noxus, there was a series of grisly murders that were occurring. The guy would position his victims in ways like they were pieces of art. The war was bloody for both sides, but this man was deranged. Finally, he was apprehended, and until now, I thought executed. I'd heard rumors that he was used as Ionia's lapdog, but this...it doesn't make any sense."

Nidalee closed her eyes in thought. "I hate to disagree, but you are both in very real danger. He's already killed four other people. Vi and Ekko were able to be resuscitated, but Garen Crownguard and Sona Bellevue are both dead." The entire room went silent as the words sank in.

"Garen? As in Lux's brother?" Ahri whispered, her eyes wide in shock. "But...he's supposed to be a soldier. One of Demacia's strongest even! If this guy can take him out then…"

"Ahri, calm down," Riven urged her, nodding to the babies. "We'll go to Master Yi's temple. We can be safe there."

"No!" Nidalee quickly exclaimed. "Do NOT go to the Temple. In fact, you need to leave Ionia and go to the institute. You'll be safer there than anywhere else. Anywhere that is a common place for you is dangerous. I can't explain in detail, but this guy can be anywhere at any time and it's important that you aren't there when he is."

Just as Ahri opened her mouth to speak, the doorbell rang at the front of the house, causing the three women to jump in surprise. "Are you expecting someone?" Riven asked suspiciously, her eyes moving to the door.

"No," Ahri whispered, fixing her clothes back into place. "Kal isn't supposed to be back until much later tonight."

Gently handing the other twin to Ahri, Riven drew her broken blade, walking to the door cautiously. Nidalee had little time to process what she was doing. "No, wait! Don't…!"

Before she could finish the sentence, Riven had put her eye up to the viewfinder, just as a loud blast echoed outward, a bullet racing through the eyehole and into the ex-soldier's skull. "Riven!" Ahri screamed in horror as the door was kicked open, revealing the masked sniper himself.

"Ahri, run!" Nidalee shouted, drawing her spear and hurling it straight at the man. He let out a slight grunt as it pierced his leg, sending him to his knee, but he simply ripped it out and stood again. His wound knitted itself back together as he leveled the gun once more.

Already, Ahri was tearing through the house. Looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide. Spotting her shared closet, she quickly slammed the door to her room and locked it, closing the closet doors and huddling into the dark corner. Her chest rose and fall as she took deep breaths, trying to wrap her head around everything.

Jhin and Nidalee faced off as he gave a slight smirk. "You must be the interloping one. It's a pleasure to put a face to the name." The huntress scowled, with nowhere to flee, she didn't have many options, especially if her spear would do her no good. "You're trying to decide whether to run or fight, isn't that so?"

"Shut up," Nid growled, reforming the spear in her hands.

"That won't do you any good."

"I said, 'Shut up'!"

Jhin tapped the side of his mask in thought as he stared intensely at her. With an elegant poise, he haplessly stepped over the bleeding corpse on the ground, his gun not wavering an inch. "Ah yes...you're the unloved one, isn't that so? Poor thing. So important and yet, so forgettable. If it's any solace, you are not the only one like this. That pitiful serpent lost all beauty in her life as well."

"Why are you doing this?!" Nidalee protested. "Why are you ruining these happy endings?"

"Foolish girl," he spat. "There are no happy endings. Only happy lies that have yet to be revealed. Take you for example: what happy ending did you ever receive, hmm? A diddle from an angel with dirty wings that made you give up on your chance at love? Since that point you've regretted it ever since."

Angry tears were streaming down her face now as Nidalee let out a savage roar. Planting her foot she hurled her spear straight at his heart, but with a quick movement, he turned his body, letting it plant into the wall behind him. "You don't know anything!" she shouted at him. "You know nothing about me!"

"Heh, the cat has claws. No matter, I am not here for you. After all, you hold no significance for anyone." As he went to move in the direction that Ahri had run, Nidalee shifted into her cat form with a roar, taking him to the ground. His eyes narrowed at her as he put his gun just beneath her chin. "You just insist on continuing to make mistakes," he argued. "I attempted to be merciful to such a pitiful creature as yourself. If you continue to test me I will not have a choice."

"I don't care," her voice echoed as the pressure of her jaws sank onto the arm he'd used to brace himself from her assault. "Kiba asked me to protect her. I won't let him down!"

He chuckled softly. "Kiba will soon be dead. I've already paid him a visit. My special bullet will ensure that he turns into quite the lovely artwork. It is only a matter of time." Nidalee's eyes widened before she went in for the kill. With a explosive clap, her body fell limp on top of the gunman. Shoving her off of him, he stood, giving a frustrated sigh as he examined himself. "Damn, she got blood on my shirt. It's going to be very difficult to remove this stain." His eyes went over his shoulder at the dead cougar before adding, "Unlike that one."

As his footsteps echoed down the hall, Ahri set the twins down in the corner of the closet, shushing them as they began to cry from the excitement. Try as she might, they wouldn't quiet as she bit her lip nervously. She had to do something. She could use her charm, then while he's entranced kill him to stop him from doing the same to her.

Jhin sang a haunting melody as he slowly entered the room, loading his gun one bullet at a time. "Can't even shout, can't even cry. A gentleman is coming by. Looking in windows, knocking on doors...It was her turn, but now it's yours. Can't call to Kal. Can't say a word. You'll die screaming, but you won't be heard." With the last line, he tore open the closet door causing Ahri to release the charm she'd built up right into his face.

He stumbled slightly, his eyes taking on the familiar glazed over hue. He walked closer to her, as she stood absolutely still, ready to form her orb to burn him to a crisp. "You don't need to do this. If you love me, you'll let me go," she whimpered, trying to urge him away.

"You are truly a lovely thing. Sadly, I kill everything I love."

Ahri went to hurl her orb at the man, just as a gunshot rang out into the house.

* * *

I trudged sluggishly along the railroad tracks. My eyes burned from the tears that streamed down my cheeks as I clutched at my shoulder in agony. It hurt even worse than when I'd first been shot and I began to wonder if he'd poisoned his bullets.

Pausing to vomit for the second time in the last hour, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and continued onward once more. That was when the entire world went dark around me. Total blackness enveloped everything leaving me completely blind.

"You failed," a voice called to me, that I soon recognized as Lamb. "Sorry."

Sure enough, the two members of Kindred stood there. Wolf stood expectantly his fangs bared while Lamb's exposed face wore a somber expression in her mask's stead. Wordlessly, I hugged her tightly, my sobs never stopping.

"I'm so sorry, Lamb. I didn't mean for you to be hurt. I tried to protect you, really I did. Please, believe me," I pleaded, cleaning to her desperately. With a sigh, she pat my back, looking towards her brother who said nothing.

"It is not me you failed to protect," she finally admitted. "I felt the mask crack, and yes, it hurt, but I am unharmed. The same could not be said for the world. I'm afraid the universe has ended, loving human. Which means one thing: it is time for the question."

Wolf, barged closer, putting himself between us and driving us back. "What will it be, mortal? The arrow or the chase?" I could see the hunger in his eyes that indicated what he wished the answer would be, but I also knew that he would be satisfied either way.

"I...failed? So that means that Jhin...he…"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"But...why is he...I don't understand."

"You're stalling, human!" Wolf snapped. "Make your choice: the arrow or the chase?!"

"Lamb, please...there must be something you can do to fix this. Please!"

"I'm sorry, loving human. I fear that everything is out of my hands now. It is time for you to make your choice."

I looked between the both of them, my legs trembling with a mix of fear, sorrow, and anger. "I can't believe you two. You were supposed to help me! You were supposed to help me catch this guy. You can find anyone, but one guy comes and starts writing people out of existence and you can't even stop him? At least I have an excuse! I'm just human. But _you_ read a book that has the entire future in it," I accused, pointing at Lamb, "and you can't see past your own selfishness to even realize what a bully you are."

"Your choice, human." Lamb repeated coldly

I closed my eyes taking deep breaths just as I placed her mask over my face. "Come and get me," I stated, causing Lamb to collapse in a heap. Running in the opposite direction, Wolf hesitated, unsure whether to check on his sister or to engage in the chase he so desperately desired.

His sister's words echoed in his mind and with a snarl, Wolf leapt after me. If this was to be his final chase, he refused to let it be the one where his prey escaped his grasp.

Just as I surmised, his brief hesitation gave me valuable ground. I'd become much faster since having to run from the terrors of Runeterra and it was then that I saw a light. I could hear the familiar tingle of the chiming bells, beckoning me to them as my body suddenly slowed and seized up.

Awful pain lanced through my shoulder and as I looked down, I watched as writhing stems stretched from the wound. Flowers began to bloom in my wound, like a colorful and elegant festering infection that drained me of my energy and vitality.

The chimes became louder as I hobbled towards the light. That was when I saw it, the small bell that rang for me. I reached outward, feeling deep in my heart that it was my salvation. Turning back, I watched as Wolf leapt towards me just as my fingertips brushed against the cool metal. Chains leapt outward, ensnaring him and pulling him downward to the ground.

He snapped his jaws, straining to reach me. I felt a surge of energy rush through me. I continue to turn and run with renewed vigor towards the light that I could see. Just as I reached out and touched the light, I felt an unseen wind rush through me as the flowers wilted and crumbled away. The light was healing my wounds!

Now that I was uninjured and with the help of the chimes, perhaps I could keep this up a while longer. My heart pounded fiercely and I began to kick myself for my choice. Why would I choose the chase if I didn't have anywhere to run to?

Lamb manifested behind me with a soft smile on her face that threw me off guard. "I chose the chase," I reminded her after tilting the mask from my lips. "You can't shoot me if that's what I chose."

"No, I can't," she assured me. "You have done exceptionally well." Walking closer, she wrapped her arms around me in a loving embrace. For a moment, I lost myself in her softness."I know what you think of me," she whispered to me. Much further behind I could hear Wolf still snapping at the chains. "I could not have stopped this. But this is the end. All things must end, loving human. Goodbye."

It was then that I realized her plan and attempted to pull away. Despite her small frame, she was able to hold me in place as Wolf finally came free, taking off into a full sprint once more. No! I couldn't let things end this way, I wouldn't! Closing my eyes, cascades of light fell all around me, bathing the darkness in gold that froze everything. I'd frozen time! I did it! Slipping from Lamb's petrified grasp, I turned to see cracks in the light beginning to form around them. I didn't have much time left.

Looking around frantically, I could see nothing save the light that emitted the soft chime that had saved my life on many occasions. I prayed that it would lead me to my salvation once more. Turning to look over my shoulder, I saw Lamb looking shocked and Wolf starting to come free before they both turned to eye me. "No!" Wolf howled as the light began to envelop me.

With that, I was blinded by light and found myself in front of a large house. My bullet wound was gone, the flowers unpresent. Lamb and Wolf were nowhere to be found, yet I still possessed her mask. Where was I? _When_ was I?

Suddenly I felt a chill in my spine and looking towards the front door, I saw Jhin, the barrel of his gun pointed at the eyehole of the door as he waited patiently. Inside, I could see the familiar shadow of nine luxurious tails swishing through the air and immediately I knew where I was.

There could be no fear, no hesitation. Tackling Jhin to the ground, he let out a cry of surprise as I pinned him beneath me, the gun skittering from his hand. "How?" he snarled just before my fist struck him hard across the jaw. Despite the iron mask he wore, there was a crack as I dislocated his jaw under my onslaught.

Just as the door opened, Riven came rushing out, blade at the ready. Seeing the two of us, she used one arm to tug me from him before putting the blade at my chest. "You've got five seconds until I…"

"Get down!" I ordered, moving her aside as Jhin began to fire wildly in our direction. Hearing the gunshots, Nidalee rushed outside to find that I'd pressed Riven against the wall and had now covered the gap between Jhin and myself. Grasping the barrel, I held it to the sky, forcing him to empty the clip upward before I drove my fist into his throat.

"Josh," Nid gasped in surprise, just as he managed to recover and shove me away.

The assassin coughed, trying to regain air. Unable to shoot at me, I watched as he pulled the pin on a grenade and hurled it in my direction. This was the end...I was going to die. I would be forced back into the darkness again! Again, a gold streak showed up, deflecting the grenade back at him. Just as it detonated, however, he disappeared, leaving a swirling flurry of flower petals.

The adrenaline gone, my legs began to wobble beneath me. That was so close. If not for the golden...things...I'd have been a goner for sure. "Josh, are you alright?" Nid asked, putting an arm around me to help stand stable.

"It's clear, Ahri!" Riven called through the door, causing the beautiful fox woman to peer out from the door. "This...erm...guy, fought off the attacker."

"If I hadn't, he would have blown you a new eye socket," I panted. As my eyes went past Riven to Ahri, my face became flushed and red. I quickly looked away from her, my heart pounding in my chest. Damn it, it was just as flustering as I feared.

"Is that Kiba?" she asked in surprise, approaching me quickly. "It's good to see you again. Not that I don't appreciate you helping, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh no, he just looks like Kiba," Nidalee quickly explained. "His name is Joshua."

"He looks and smells like Kiba," Ahri commented, lifting up my bangs to look into my eyes. I quickly tugged my head away from her in a reactive flinch, causing Nidalee to stabilize me again. "Though, much more touchy."

"S-sorry. Has Nidalee filled you in?"

Her eye lit up brightly. "Oh! You're the twenty something. The writer."

"Didn't bother to tell them my name?" I asked Nid. "Yes, that's me. I'm the writer. That man was Jhin. Did he manage to hurt you? Are Vul and Vix okay?"

Ahri was taken aback as her tails drooped around her. "How do you know about Vix and Vul?"

"I wrote them," I explained, causing her to have a somber expression.

"So...they're not real?"

"Don't say that!" Riven criticized. "Of course they're real. If they weren't real then what the hell did you spend 14 hours pushing out of your vag-"

"Please stop talking!" I quickly begged, cutting her off. "I really don't want to think about it. Please. Yes, your children are real...in this universe. Just like you. Just like Kal."

"Why did Jhin want to hurt Kal?" Ahri whispered. "We didn't do anything to him, but he was going to kill me and the kids just to get to Kal?" She suddenly gasped. "It's a conspiracy theory! Ionia is trying to shut Kal up about Magnus because they don't want anyone to know that he kidnapped people under their watch." She caught her fist as if she'd just solved a difficult mystery.

"Ahri, where are the twins?"

"Oh Gods!" She dashed back inside leaving the three of us standing out there.

"Pregnancy brain," Riven shrugged. "I thought it was bad before, it's worse after. Now, the answer to that question?"

* * *

Jhin let out a growl of disgust as he hurled his gun away from him before sinking into self-loathing. "I was so close," he grumbled. "Curse that damned reporter. He's lucky that I can't erase him like the others."

" _He was not the reporter."_

Jhin sat up puzzled. "What do you mean?"

" _He is not 'Kiba'. Not in this world. Here he goes by the creator's name: he goes by Joshua. But he is not Joshua either. In truth, he has no name."_

"What do I do about him, then? I tried to eliminate him, but he just seems to keep coming back and escaping through my fingertips." He rubbed his jaw, setting it back into place with a hideous and sickening crack. "Does he not have a story?"

The voice hesitated for a moment. After a pause, it finally replied, " _No. He carries the story himself. He is different from the others. He both exists and does not exist. He will be infinitely harder to destroy. It is not impossible though."_

"How would I accomplish such a feat? I grow tired of his meddling in my affairs."

" _That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die."_

Images flooded Jhin's mind of the mask that he'd seen the story teller carrying. It was that of Kindred. Was that what continued to save his life? Then he only had one option: he'd have to kill death themselves.

To be continued...


	13. Interlude

Manifesto - Interlude

Hey everyone! So I know you're probably asking yourself why the top says 'interlude' versus 'Ch. 13' . Well, to put it simply, I started writing Manifesto to help combat some of the depression that I'm commonly struck with. Over time, it sort of evolved into its own story. However, there are still a lot of things about me that I want to share with you all, my readers, and so I thought I'd put in this interlude, since we're a little over halfway now. It's not necessary for the story, so if you don't care to know more about me, go ahead and just skip this chapter. Otherwise:

As some of you may already know, I've posted a Q&A story before, but I figured it'd be better to just vomit out a bunch of stuff about me and if you guys have any further questions or comments, you can just send them to me. So without further ado, here's a list of 100 things you may or may not know about me. Feel free to skip this chapter to the next one once it's out if you don't care.

Let's start with the big one: I have Asperger's Syndrome. For those of you who do not know what that means, I'll explain. Asperger's Syndrome is one of the many disorders associated with ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. The way I typically explain it to others is that you get a super power, but you have to sacrifice most of your ability to socialize in exchange. While my case is far more mild than most, I still suffer a lot of the quirks that come with it. The best way to explain is to think of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. Very smart, but at the same time socially inept.

So your question in response to the first one is probably: well, then what's your power? Well, here it is: I learn things. Duh. We all learn things. What I mean is that I learn things quickly. If I read something and write it down, it will be engrained in my mind for a very long time: usually about a year or so if I don't use it. On top of that, my instincts are very skilled. I can pick up something new and do it well for pretty much anything I try. The exception to that is music. I can't play an instrument to save my life. Jack of all trades, master of none.

"When I've talked to you, you seem put together." This is because whenever I write, I'm much better at expressing myself and communicating. In real life, I'm actually very shy, to the point where most people assume that I don't like them when they first meet me. Once I warm up to someone though, I talk incessantly to the point where I'm pretty annoying, I imagine. On top of that stuff, I have a _lot_ of quirks. For example, I listen to the same song over and over again. Like a lot. Seriously, my phone is set to play a song on repeat and I can straight up sit through the same song along a five hour drive. Note I _can_ listen to a variety, I just don't typically. I'm also an overly picky eater and I have difficulty asking for things (like ordering food, requesting something from a butcher, questioning for a price, etc.) I know it sounds silly, but it can get to the point where I start hyperventilating just thinking about it.

Is there a cure? Well...the short answer is no. Typically, people develop strategies to get around the quirks and drawbacks they have from Asperger's. I've got a few myself. I prefer to order food online rather than over the phone to save from talking to someone, or if I do call, depending on where it is, I'll hand the phone to a friend and ask them to order for me, or something like that. It annoys them sometimes, which I know and I'm sorry for, but it is a huge help to me.

The worst time my quirks have hit me was when I was working at a bank. I was a teller and trying to help a customer who was very angry. Another thing I haven't mentioned is that I hate yelling. A lot. More so from adults than kids. It got so bad, that even though I was apologizing profusely, he kept cursing at me, until finally I blacked out. To put this into perspective: I'm 24 years old, 6'6" and 250 pounds. I'm a big guy and I still collapsed like a sack of potatoes. When I woke up, I quit on the spot.

Today, I'm a teaching assistant. I work at a private school called Focus Academy, which is a school designed for kids like me who have mild social disorders (typically ADHD, Tourette's, and Asperger's). To answer the most common question, no, Tourette's is not always spontaneous cursing. Only about 2% of those diagnosed with it actually have that symptom.

Before I wanted to be a teacher, I actually went through quite a few ideas of what I wanted to be. I've always had a passion for Criminal Justice, so I wanted to be a lawyer or a detective for a long time, but as you may suspect, being yelled at kind of comes with the job description so it's a bit of a no-go. Before that I wanted to be a psychologist, and that's something I'm still humoring the possibility of. But in honesty, I'd give it all up to be a professional writer.

Everything you've heard about me so far in Manifesto is true. Everything. The whole business with my sister, the worries and concerns that I feel, it's all real. When I started Manifesto, I wanted to really give you a glimpse into what I thought and felt about myself and my writing. So I'm going to go into a bit more detail into some of those things.

Starting at the very beginning: One of my biggest concerns is that I'm becoming arrogant. In real life, I'm pretty cocky, a trait spurred by my jack of all trades nature, but even still, I try desperately to be humble. When I first wrote A Boy and His Fox, I honestly didn't think anyone would read it. A long time ago, I wrote, and yes this is embarrassing, My Little Pony/Dungeons & Dragons crossover fanfiction. No one ever really read it. I didn't get any recognition, so eventually I just gave up on it.

A Boy and His Fox started in two ways: the first was a conversation that I had with a friend on League (due to a misunderstanding of lore on my part). "If you were to be bound to a champion permanently, which champion would you choose?" My answer was, of course, Ahri. Secondly, a bunch of people I roleplayed with on IMVU suggested I try my hand at writing again.

When ABAHF became popular, I decided that I'd keep a level head about it all. Or at least, I'd try to. I've never understood how celebrities can be rude to their fans, and I've tried at all turns to be polite and kind to everyone who communicates with me.

There was one time that I slipped up and was very rude to someone on twitter, (though it was a defensive rudeness, as little as that excuses me).

Despite my confidant attitude, I actually have a very low self-esteem. It's been touched on a bit in Manifesto, but to put it into words, I basically think that I'm highly overrated. A Boy and His Fox, as of now, is the most favorited Ahri fanfiction on the website. For the life of me, I don't understand why. I don't read much fanfiction, that's no secret, but even still it seems like there are a lot better fanfiction writers than me.

I also have a high problem with accepting praise, at least in the sense that I don't think as much of it as I probably should. I can get a thousand compliments and one harsh criticism and then all of the compliments seem to vanish from my mind. Recently I discovered a blog called das sporking that's practically dedicated to tearing apart my (and other authors) work. I could accept that, if not for the constant attacks against me as a person that come with it. Needless to say, I have been trying to overcome it, but it's been very difficult. (Note: please don't think I'm asking people to just jump in and give this guy grief. At the very least he's been kind enough to keep them on his blog and not flame me directly.)

I'm deathly afraid of being forgotten. So in Manifesto, 'Josh' explains that he's not afraid of dying, just being forgotten. In a sense that's true for me. Well, half-true. I'm afraid of dying because I'm afraid that I haven't left anything behind, not because I'm afraid of what comes next.

See, my senior year of highschool my family moved north to Montgomery, Texas. For that year, all I could think about was going back home, and so, when I graduated, I went to college in Cy-Fair which is where I was born and raised. When I got there, all of my Highschool friends had vanished. Those who had stayed there didn't even remember who I was. It scared me to death that the people I cared about most had forgotten me completely, to the point where I've pretty much become obsessed with carving my name into stone.

Other fears I have include: socializing, attractive women, needles, snakes, and sharp objects (like knives, pens, or scissors). To put it into perspective: I went to a convention and I saw this really awesome Kitty Katarina cosplay, and as much as I wanted to, I was too scared to go up and tell her I liked her costume. Seriously, one of the highlights of that con for me was that I was able to walk up to a girl dressed as Daenerys Targaryen and ask her if I could borrow a chair from her table. That's an accomplishment for me.

I am a virgin. Now I know that you guys are going to have one of three reactions. 1) Cool story, bro. Whatever. 2) Well, yeah. Obviously. You clearly don't know how sex works based on what you've written. 3) Bullshit! You are not a fucking virgin! You can't possibly write that much sex and not have had it.

Well, the truth is I am actually a virgin, what's more I'm under an oath of abstinence, which means: no sex until marriage. This raises a lot of questions for a lot of people so I'll put it this way: heavy petting is allowed, intercourse is off the table.

The above oath that I've explained has actually caused me a lot more trouble than good. By that, I mean that I've had girls break up with me because I refused to have sex with them.

I actually struggle greatly with my sexuality. The only way I can really explain it is that I'm caught somewhere between moralities. This was due to my upbringing in that my parents always taught me that sex was a 'sinful' thing, so to speak. Because of that part of me thinks that my sexual urges wouldn't bother me if I was a better person, and on the other hand, I wish I was worse so I would just give in to them.

As mentioned, I was raised in a Christian household: specifically Methodist. However, over time I've distanced myself from my family and their beliefs.

Now I identify myself as a Transcendentalist. A Transcendentalist is a Christian in a sense, though they're not your typical kind. You won't ever see a Transcendentalistic church because they would rather spend their Sunday's communing with God and nature on their own. The basic premise is that everyone has what's called an 'oversoul' which is to say that everyone has a bit of good inside of them. In a way, loving and accepting others is the most important thing because we are all part of God. Also unlike many Christian teachings, we accept all religions as equal. People believe what they need to believe. So long as they aren't hurting anything, people should be allowed to think and do as they like. As the Hindu belief says: there are many paths, but we are all on the same mountain.

My previous statement may cause a pinch of 're Christian, but you're...not a Christian? Yes. My beliefs mostly follow the Christian doctrine as laid out in the New Testament, however, I also share and take many beliefs from other religions. I've always enjoyed the Buddhist philosophy of pacifism, for example. There are dozens of others as well that I take my beliefs from, and while some may call that hypocritical, I like to think that just because a religion is different doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.

I'm awful at League of Legends. Straight up, I'm horrible. I mean, I haven't really dedicated my time and effort to get better, but I'm still pretty crummy over all.

I'm a support main. Specifically, I main Support Orianna, or as I like to call it, Ori Supporti. This is by choice, not because of the aforementioned fact above. I usually play support roles in games, because I have a very protective nature.

My pen name comes from the word 'Kiba' (Japanese for Fang) and 'Elunal' (a made up name derived from 'Lunar'). Thus my name translates to (sort of) Lunar Fang.

Despite popular opinion, my name did not come from Naruto (or for those weebs amongst you: Wolf's Rain). It was actually a nickname given to me in Highschool (admittedly by a weeb).

My nickname came from the fact that I have a lot of dog-like characteristics. Among them I have: an excellent sense of smell, an overly protective nature, a craving for attention, and the enjoyment of being scratched behind the ears.

My sense of smell is actually scary good. If I've been around someone a lot, I can find them or tell if they're sick by the way they smell. As gross as it is, I can even smell when my female friends are having that time of month. (I can't help it, I wish I could)

My favorite of my stories would have to be, as surprising as it is given my lack of updates, Worlds Apart, Separate Ways. I couldn't tell you why. Maybe because I really relate to Syndra.

All of my characters names have special meanings tied to them. Some common ones are : Brett Tyler (a combination of two of my favorite singers: Brett Michaels and Steven Tyler), Thane Rye-Hour (an anagram of Henry Thoreau, a philosopher I greatly respect), Vix/Vul (Vixen being a female fox and Vulpes being latin for fox), etc.

Of all of the OCs my favorite one is probably Robin. I love writing her idioms and sayings because it's just so abstract and wild. She's crazy and fun and to be completely honest, I really wish I was friends with someone like her.

My favorite non-OC character to write is a tie between Jinx and Quinn. I like Jinx because she lets me unleash that inner psychopath, don't give no shits, do things just for fun kind of person. I like Quinn for the exact opposite. Her no nonsense attitude combined with her meta behavior is super fun to write.

My absolute favorite food, like many of my OC's, is Ionian...err...chinese food. While I'm not very exploratory in my food choices, I very rarely, if ever, turn down an invite to go get some Chinese.

I actually don't read fanfiction. Like at all. I'll read stuff that writers ask me to, but even then I usually just limit it to the first few chapters so I can formulate a critical opinion. However, my favorite author(s) is Stephen King and Annette Curtis Klause. If you read anything by Annette Curtis Klause, you can see where I get a lot of my inspiration from. I'd recommend Freaks or The Silver Kiss as introductory books to her.

My favorite animal is a fox. Duh. It makes me really sad that Texas (despite literally ANY other animal being legal to own) has laws against keeping foxes.

I do, however, have a pet prairie dog. His name is Stormy, which for you Doctor Who and Princess Bride fans is short for Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All Dread Pirate Roberts.

Yes, Roberts is my real last name. I actually am related to a real pirate: Bartholomew 'Black Bart' Roberts.

Remy and I have been together for nearly 5 years now. It's amazing she's stayed with me for so long, simply because, again, I've got so many social issues that it drives pretty much all but the hardiest of folk away.

I absolutely adore femme fatale characters. I've no idea why, but I love the thought of a super hot chick using her charms to get her way.

In real life, however, I tend to avoid those people like the plague.

Do I have any connections within fanfiction writers? As much as I'd love to be able to talk about some super secret organization of fanfiction writers, the truth is we mostly stick to our own. I've spoken with a few of them and we've had some pleasant chats. Some of them include larger names like Waddlebuff and WingsofRequiem, but the three I talk to most are Alsodef, ADamnGoodName, and Veraduxxz.

Do you have any enemies in the fanfiction community? Not really. I don't have many enemies in general. There are a few people who get on my nerves, but no one I'd really wish ill will on. I will say that earlier in my career, I had a friendly rivalry with HoneyBadgerDC.

Have you ever met one of your readers in real life? Not yet, but I want to really badly. It would honestly be a dream come true, even if it would be weird. Like a 'Hey I fap to that stuff you write' weird. I actually have gotten that as a PM once. I mean, I assumed some people did, but I just wasn't expecting it to be said out loud.

What's your least favorite story you've ever written? Out of the ones that I've presently published, I'd say Darkness' Embrace. Horror is my biggest weakness in writing.

I actually resent the original ABAHF quite a bit. Nothing I've written since has ever become as popular and I'm worried that I peaked too soon. Even now I find myself writing things and wondering 'but will they like it as much as they liked ABAHF?'

The thing I've gotten the most flak over out of all of my stories is definitely hands down when Kal cheated on Ahri with Lux. It still surprises me that people are far more upset with Kal for going through with it than with Lux for using his life debt to put him in that position. I usually tell people to consider what it'd be like if their roles were reversed. Kal would be crucified for that. Double standards, I guess.

Fun fact: I was very close to removing and rewriting Ch. 10 of ABAHF (the first chapter I ever wrote that had lemons in it). I was scared to death that everyone would either a) hate it or b) that it would be removed because of rules. But you can thank my good friend Winkleson, a regular reader/reviewer at the time for talking me out of it. I quote, "You need to relax. Don't think about what your readers will think. Write for yourself. And I swear to fucking God, don't even think about taking down that porn."

Once I became so drunk while on a friends stream that I whipped out the latest chapter of Lusty Ionian Butler and read it out loud, live. My friend was horrified, as was I when I discovered that one of my students had tuned in to the stream. Thankfully, I discussed it with them, apologized, and everything is all fine and dandy now. (For the record they're 16. It's not the worst they've heard/seen shockingly.)

Speaking of Lusty Ionian Butler, it was actually an inside joke that came from what Worlds Apart, Separate Ways started as. Originally, I was going to make it like Lusty Ionian Butler but call it 50 Shades of Violet.

The title Lusty Ionian Butler is a reference to a findable book series in the Elderscrolls games called the Lusty Argonian Maid.

As the titles of many of my stories may indicate, I'm a huge fan of classic rock, but lately the music I've enjoyed the most is Electro Swing. Particularly, my favorite band right now is Goldfish.

My least favorite music is Nightcore. It's a travesty, I know. I just can't stand the stupid chipmunked vocals.

So I know I said earlier that my first fanfiction was My Little Pony/Dungeons and Dragons fanfiction...but that's not necessarily true. I started writing in Junior High, I'd say about 7th grade. I worked on a story that was absolute trash, but in addition I went to a little website known as Quizilla. No doubt some of you internet veterans have heard of this. There, I wrote -braces self- Sonic The Hedgehog fanfiction. Believe me, it was every bit as awful as you imagine and while I'd normally encourage you guys to check it out for yourself, I'm sorry to say that Quizilla was picked up by Teennick who took down all of the stories that were once featured on there

I've mentioned in Manifesto that I know some Tae Kwon Do, but there's actually a bit more to it than that. Since I was about four years old, my family's had me learn some really weird skills/sports. In addition to Tae Kwon Do, I've also learned American Boxing, Hap Ki Do, Tai Chi, Hsing-i, quick drawing, skeet shooting, competitive laser tag, water skiing, and scuba diving.

Despite all of the above, I'm actually super pacifistic. I used to get into fights all the time when I was in junior high because of how much I was bullied, but now I'm very much anti-violence unless it's to protect someone who can't defend themselves (or if it's a friendly spar).

If you could be a character in a TV show, book, or movie (not including fanfiction), what would you pick? Sora from No Game No Life. Just...I really would love to live in that universe. Fox girls _and_ a career of playing games? Yes please.

As the above fact would imply, I do watch anime. My two favorite are HunterXHunter and AngelBeats!

People often ask me where I get my inspiration for my stories from. Typically, I start with a tiny idea and I just day dream about it until I come up with cool scenarios (or scenarios I think would be cool) then it's just a matter of connecting the dots. Whenever I get stuck in a story it's typically not because I don't know what comes next but more I don't know how to get there.

Because I don't do hardly any planning before hand in stories, I sometimes write myself into a corner, which is the second reason I often get stuck when writing a story.

I've actually trained myself to write while I'm half-asleep. You guys may often see me switch a name randomly (I.e. Zac is Zed at one point in MOAYGH) or there may be a conditional modifier missing (can/does vs can not/does not). This is evidence that when I was writing my brain was not fully cognizant because it wanted me to sleep but I wanted to keep writing.

As mentioned in Grinding of the Gears, I do have one eye that is far sighted and one eye that is near sighted. Because of this, at night I have to wear glasses when I write or it hurts my eyes. However, in the day, my eyesight works very well. The only real depth perception I have is that I sometimes don't realize that something is about to hit me if it's just above my eye level (which is a lot, unfortunately. I'm too freaking tall.)

Manifesto actually started a very long time ago under a different name: The Magic Portal. It was a one shot chapter that involved me meeting all of my OC's and explaining to them why they existed and what my life was like growing up. I had to remove it because my mother discovered my fanfiction and had begun reading it (awkward).

My mother has attested that she enjoyed my dirtier fanfiction. I'm not pleased with this sentiment. It disturbs me greatly.

I don't have a very close relationship with members of my family. My parents were divorced when I was about six years old. I lived mostly with my mother, who I do not get along with at all (though it's gotten better lately). This is mostly because she lied to me about why they divorced. She told me that it was my Dad's fault so I would hate him instead of her (though she's the one who cheated on him).

I've always been a relatively good kid. I never got into trouble at school or with the law or anything. However, when I was 19 I got into an argument with my mother over whether or not I should be allowed to spend time with friends after I got out of college. She kicked me out of the house the following morning.

Thankfully, Remy, my girlfriend for a year at the time, took me in. Her mother took care of me and she's been like a second mom to me (more so than even my real mom).

I actually don't trust any members of my family. Like at all. When I was kicked out of the house by my mother, I called a lot of them asking for help financially, but they all turned me away. I couldn't figure out why until my Dad told me that my mother had told them all what "really happened": that I'd walked out of the house on my own and that I said I didn't need their help. My dad even believed that. Since then I haven't been able to trust any of them.

I have six brothers and sisters. I am the oldest biologically with only one younger biological sister: Nicole. We're three years apart. I have a younger stepsister and a younger step brother, two older step brothers and one older step sister, so over all I am directly in the middle. I'm closest with my real sister, but I still get along with my step siblings for the most part.

My heart rate is actually about twice as fast as a normal person's. This is because when I was born I had a condition called Wolf Parkinson's White Syndrome: a rare illness where I am born with extra muscles in my heart. When I was younger, my heartbeat was almost 6 times as fast as a normal person's.

When I was 8, doctors performed non-invasive heart surgery in order to remove those muscles from my heart. They got all but one, which is why my heart still beats a bit faster than usual. Thankfully, it's not dangerous enough to warrant going under surgery again.

In addition to my heart condition, since the age of 12 I've had kidney stones. They happen regularly, about once every three months, but in addition to taking medication, I've weeded out Oxalates from my diet in order to decrease their growth. Bear in mind, they still happen, but they're just really small now.

Thanks to my kidney stones (seriously...thanks...I guess…) I have a higher than normal pain tolerance. At least in regards to my stones, I do. Most people take at least a week off of work when they have kidney stones that are 3 mm or so. I take off a day and only if it's between 6 to 9mm. Over that though, and I can't pass it manually (pee them).

I've actually had to get a stone surgically removed once. ONCE. Never has it happened again, nor will it if I have a say in it.

-sigh- I have an average dick size. About 6 and a half inches. I hate you for making me answer that question. You know who you are.

Presently, I live with two roommates: Fano and Joey. Both of them are artists, though in a different way. Joey writes a Nuzlocke comic under the name Rasarak7331 on Deviant Art. Fano streams under the name FanoBelmont on Twitch, but he's also started doing some hentai under the name TheSpacePug or Spug for short.

All of my OC's are in some way based off of myself. Typically, I take a trait that I have and I put it to the extreme. Kal is my passion for rules, Thane is my libido, Brett is my cockiness, Val is my intellect, Flynn is my thirst for adventure, Yil is my romanticism, Ren is my extroversion, Vix/Vul are my naivety, and Kiba is my passion for writing. The closest OC to my actual personality (as you may have guessed) is Josh, though I will admit there are times when he acts far differently than I would. (For example, I would **not** be able to look Ahri or any female from League in the eye. I'd be way too shy to even talk to them.)

You may ask yourself 'what about Flint from Darkness' Embrace?' We don't talk about the side of me that Flint represents. Let's just say that it's a side I try to stay far away from at any given time.

I talked about getting drunk and reading Lusty Ionian Butler on a stream. My favorite drinks are (in order): spiced rum and dr pepper, mudslides (adult chocolate milkshake), and mead. I typically prefer to mull mead (steep it with spices) before having it over ice.

My favorite champions are (and this is odd): Ahri is my favorite aesthetically, personality wise, my favorite is Riven, gameplay wise my favorite is Orianna, and the one that I'd honestly probably spend the most time with in real life is Caitlyn.

I enjoy playing as female characters in games, though if it's a game where you make your own character, I tend to play as a male.

My favorite fantasy race is a three-way tie: I really like Shifters and Hengeyokai from the D&D universe, but I've also found a big love for the M'quote from FFXIV. Catgirls, ho!

If I was a D&D class, I'd probably be a Warden. For those of you who don't play 4e this is basically a tanky druid that doesn't turn into an animal. I've always loved nature powers and I like playing a protective role. In 5e though, I'd probably label myself as either a wizard or a ranger.

A common discussion my friends and I have are about our 'auras'. If you've ever read The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott, you're familiar with the concept we mean. Every person has an aura that's a different color and has a particular scent that matches it when you use it for magic. I think if I had one it would be a dark navy blue and the scent associated with it would be the smell of rain right as it hits hot pavement.

As you may have gathered, I have quite a few rolemodels who are authors. But my biggest rolemodel is actually my boss: Jacquelyn Mulkey. She's the one who first helped me come to terms with my autism and she's looked out for me ever since. After I lost my job with the bank (I quit) she offered me my current job at Focus. Others were uncertain about it at first, but over time they've come to really appreciate me here. It feels nice.

Despite what you'd think, I don't actually teach writing. I'm a math teacher, though I've taught pretty much every subject in one-on-one tutoring. That being said, if you're in Highschool, I'm more than willing to help you with math homework. You just have to send me a sample of what you're working on and I can help explain it to you (or try).

How are you coming up with all these facts? Well, believe it or not there's actually an 'A Boy and His Fox' fanclub on skype...sort of. It started out that way, but it's moved on to just being a fanfiction fan club that I happen to be a part of. If you're interested in joining it, send me a PM, I'm more than willing to invite you. We have a few members in it that are fanfiction writers themselves: like the aforementioned ADamnGoodName and Alsodef

I have a beard. There are many like it but this one is mine.

I've mentioned before that I'm from Texas. As much as I'd like to fight the stereotype: I do have a cowboy hat, I do own a six shooter, and I do have a horse (or at least my mother has two horses, but I have ridden them). Other than that though, I swear, Texas is a totally normal state.

So Zyra mentions that Josh talks dirty in his sleep. This is actually completely true. When I sleep, I often talk out loud, typically I do one of three things: I say things that really freak others out (typically sexual stuff), I recite poetry that I make up in my head (odd because I suck at poetry when I'm awake), or I give people instructions on how to play Dungeons and Dragons (I...do that a lot when I'm awake too.)

Very rarely do I sleep walk, but when I do, I typically play pranks on myself, for whatever reason. The prime example of this is the time I woke up to find that I'd hidden my keys from myself. Now I can understand if you're skeptical, but they weren't misplaced, they were literally under my laptop's cooling pad (which is elevated in the back).

Other than snakes, I actually have a huge love for animals. They typically like me as well. The exception are birds. For some reason, birds like parrots do not like me. Owls do for some reason though.

I've always wanted to visit Japan's island that is resident to hundreds of foxes. I often joke with Remy that I need to go there to rule over my people. The truth is that Japan would be very hard for me to visit because of the large population, my extreme pickiness for food, and the many social standards there.

In ten years, I'd really like to be living off of my writing. It's my dream to be able to spend my entire life just writing stories. I know it's a difficult goal to accomplish, but I'm still hoping.

Realistically, I imagine that in ten years I'll be working in some sort of literary career: maybe a literary agent or an editor. I know at the beginning of my career my grammar was awful, but I'd like to think I've improved quite a bit. I even discovered that alright is not a real word. It's all right. That took some getting used to.

My all time favorite superhero is Moon Knight. For those of you who don't know, Moon Knight is a marvel hero that's basically Batman, except that he's blessed by Khonshu, the Egyptian God of Vengeance and the Moon. Because of that his injuries heal faster (though they still hurt a lot), he gets increased strength based on the phases of the moon, and he's just a typical fucking badass. There's a joke that Deadpool once makes to the Human Torch: "It doesn't matter how fast you go, Moon Knight will always do it better."

As the previous may imply, I'm much more of a fan of Marvel than DC. I like them both, but Marvel definitely takes the win.

I get my inspiration for lemons from Corruption of Champions. If you haven't played it yet, I recommend it greatly. It's a text-based RPG that's chock full of nice steamy things that will both be good and freak you out.

Finally, fact number 100! This list has been a real pain. Thanks to the friends who helped me compile it. Fact number 100: My fans are the most important people to me in my life. I mean that legitimately. Words really can't express the amount of gratitude and appreciation I have towards you all. When I started writing fanfiction, I was not in a good place in life, but you really helped me to get out of my hole. I know that I badmouthed A Boy and His Fox a little bit, but please never misunderstand that I am grateful for it. Without the first A Boy and His Fox, I would not have the positive attitude that you all have granted me with your support. So thank you so very much for everything.

That concludes this list of 100 facts about me. I know it's a lot and if you've read all of this, I thank you for taking an interest in my life and in me as a person. We will now return to the regularly scheduled chapter of Manifesto, starting the next submission.


	14. Chapter 13

Manifesto Ch. 13

"So, not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?" Nid asked me. "Weren't you supposed to be with...you know…?"

Riven and Ahri looked at one another puzzled. "Something we should be clued in on?"

"He's friends with Kindred," Nidalee stated plainly.

Ahri scoffed, "Santa Claus too?"

"We're not friends," I stated plainly. I had to admit that Lamb's betrayal stung badly. Why in the world was she acting this way? "They just wanted to use me."

"Use you how?" Riven wondered confused. "I can't fathom anything either of them would want from you."

I remained silent, but I could feel the piercing eyes of the three women on me. "You...didn't!" Nidalee suddenly exclaimed, her glimmering irises wide in shock. "You've got to be kidding me. I mean...how does that even work?"

"No!" Riven gasped. "You're joking, right?"

My cheeks burned red as Ahri covered her mouth with one of her tails to laugh. "Shut up!" I snapped suddenly, causing them to immediately fall silent. "It's not a joke."

"Calm down…"

"No!" I shot back. "You don't get it. I...that is...someone else...there's a promise that I made that I wouldn't...you know. She tricked me into doing it and believe me when I say that I've never felt so humiliated or betrayed in my life." An unsettling silence fell on all of us as Nidalee came closer to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, nuzzling against my cheek. "I know that you two were really close."

"Thank you," I answered, hugging her back before realizing the other two were still watching us and clearing my throat. "Anyway, I came here because I had to fix things."

"Fix things?"

I took a deep breath. "You're going to want to buckle up for this."

* * *

Lamb watched with intense interest as she and Wolf watched him explain the events that had occurred. "Surely now, you see that he is a manipulator?" the brother suggested, glancing sideways to the white archer. "Look how he twists the truth to make himself seem the victim instead of admitting he failed the first time." She said nothing, staying silent as she stared at the human. "Lamb."

She blinked, looking to her brother. "Yes, dearest Wolf? Did you say something?"

"You are distracted by the human again. I see his influence still has not completely waned from you. Perhaps it is because his…"

"That is crude, brother," she pointedly interrupted. "It is not his influence that I struggle with. I simply do not understand what is happening."

"How do you mean?"

"The book...it's different."

Wolf rolled his eyes with an impatient growl. "That infernal book has brought nothing but trouble. I think the wisest option is to tear it to shreds and burn it into oblivion."

"The world almost ended brother. We need something to fight against it."

He let out another huff before scratching himself behind the ear with his hind paw. "How so? The world is not important to us. If it ends, so be it. We have always been and we always will."

Lamb shook her head. "No, there is more to it than that."

"How so?"

"The universe would cease to exist. We, as much as you'd like to disagree, are part of that universe. The death of them is the death of us as well. And I fear it will be just like the others. There will be no arrow or chase, just a cease of existence."

Just as wolf opened his mouth to ask what she meant, there was a gunshot that rang out in the void. Her brother froze, completely shocked as his eyes slowly flowed to discover his mask presently had a large hole in it.

In a blur, Lamb had drawn her bow and now began to wheel around, searching for the unseen enemy. "Wolf, are you unharmed?" she asked, but there was no response. "Brother?" Turning she saw him, completely frozen and still as if he'd been turned to stone.

Lamb could still see the life in his eyes. His existence, she knew, was a miserable one now. There was another explosive crack as a bullet ripped through her chest, vanishing through her as if it were nothing. She quickly fired an arrow in that direction, but with a high pitched whistle her arrow flew back, end over end to embed in the ground at her feet.

The masked man emerged, causing for the first time in her life, a feeling of dread and fear to run through Lamb. How was that possible? She was Death, nothing could frighten her. So why was it then that her body trembled so greatly?

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I am the hand of the destroyer," he replied, his voice soft and sinister. "Death is such a beautiful thing, and I, for one, love all that is beautiful. Nothing is more beautiful than destruction. Thus, I have come to destroy you and your brother."

Turning his gun towards her paralyzed brother, Lamb attempted to dive in the way, but again his bullet passed through her as if she were nothing but air. With a loud crack, the mask fell apart in two, leaving her brother staring in shock before simply blowing away like dust on the wind. "Wolf!" Turning back to the masked man, he smirked, aiming his gun at her once more before a frown crossed his features.

"It seems I am not able to kill you," he murmured, almost annoyedly.

"So help me, I will end you," she snarled, aiming her arrow at him before firing again. With a ping, it bounced off of his mask, unable to harm him. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Every time she screamed, she'd fire another volley of arrows, but each one simply deflected off of him as he just stood there, taking them.

"You cannot kill me either, foolish Lamb."

"You killed my brother!" she cried. "I will kill you!"

Just as she drew back her bow, he was upon her, grasping her wrist tightly as his cold eyes met hers. "No. You will not." Reaching up, he took off his mask. She let out a sharp gasp, trying to pull away but unable to.

"No, no! That's impossible!"

Without a word, Jhin pulled her closer, placing his lips on hers as tears of fear and hatred streamed down her cheeks. When, at last, he pulled away, he chuckled to himself, turning away to vanish again in the darkness of time.

Lamb stood there, unable to fathom what she'd just witnessed. "K-kiba…" she muttered, her eyes closing as she collapsed on the ground, hammering it with her fists. "What is going on?"

* * *

"The World ended," I explained softly. "Jhin came and he tried to kill me and when that didn't work, he instead found his way to you. He killed Ahri, erasing the entire universe from existence."

"Why me?" Ahri asked. "Why does the universe hinge on me?"

"Because," I replied, "you're the one who started it all."

"M-me?"

I nodded. "You've always been my...er...his favorite. Since he first played you at the beginning of his League of Legends career, he fell in love and so when he first began to write, he was asked a question: if you could be permanently bound to a champion, only one, forever, who would you choose? It didn't even take him a heartbeat to reply 'Ahri'. So he started writing A Boy and His Fox."

"Isn't that what Kiba…"

"Yes. Kiba Elunal, the reporter of the Journals of Justice in Piltover, is his self-insert. He acts as his avatar, so to speak, though now he is not the only one. His stories exist in this world because of Kiba. Particularly, the stories that exist are Worlds Apart, Separate Ways, Three Sheets to the Wind, Sound & Fury, A Boy and His Fox, Magic of a Young Girl's Heart, Mending Broken Wings, Smoothest of Criminals, The Grinding of the Gears, and The Siren's Call. Of all of them, yours is the very first."

Ahri's ears drooped in confusion as she tried to wrap her brain around the idea. "I don't understand, you say he loves me?"

"Yes."

"But, in his world, I don't exist."

"Also correct."

"How can he possibly love me then? You can't love something that doesn't exist. On top of that, if he loved me, why would he make Kal? Why wouldn't he insert Kiba into it and make me fall in love with him?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Riven interrupted, before I could respond. "Then what about me? Did he write about me too?"

"Yes. You showed up as a minor character in A Boy and His Fox: when you first met Kal and Ahri and helped him remove the gauntlet. Well, he decided to write a story for you too: Mending Broken Wings. It's based on your recovery with Arashi." Her cheeks turned a bright red as a soft knowing smile crossed my lips before I turned back to Ahri. "As for you, I've...he's always had trouble separating his emotions from the real and the fictional. Originally, you were supposed to die in A Boy and His Fox. He couldn't bring himself to do it, so he decided to try to kill off Kal instead, but again, he couldn't bear the thought of you hurting so badly. In the end, he gave you a happy ending. He gave you children and a husband and everything he wished he could give you if you were real, but instead he settled for what he could."

The nine-tailed fox's cheeks burned akin to her friends, but Nidalee cleared her throat to signal attention to her. "You're getting off subject. The world ended?"

"Yes. I'm afraid Jhin managed to kill you, Ahri. When he did, all of the actions that would have occurred thanks to your deeds with Kal caused everything to no longer exist. You were the start of the universe, and with your end, so too did the universe."

"But, then how…"

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure. Kindred cornered me, and despite our previous...relationship...they forced me to make the choice."

"And…?" Nidalee pressed, her heart racing.

"I chose the chase and I did the impossible: I out ran the Wolf."

"How is that possible?" Ahri gasped. "No one can outrun Wolf."

"I don't know," I admitted, "but I did. Because of that, I was able to get here just in time to stop Jhin from blowing a hole in your face, Riven."

"Thanks," she muttered.

"Don't mention it."

Riven playfully elbowed her friend. "So Ahri, how does it feel to know that a God is in love with you, hmm?"

"Riven!" she chastised.

"Don't pretend you don't just adore the thought of it."

"I'm married!"

"So? Doesn't mean you can't have a lady boner for someone else."

"Do you have to be so crude all the time? I'm just trying to say that…" Ahri paused, glancing at me with curious eyes. "Wait a moment, you're another avatar from him, doesn't that mean that he…"

"Looks like me? Yes."

"Eh. I'm not too impressed."

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that," I grumbled. Just as Nidalee went to speak, time froze around us. Not again. I turned around, just in time to see Lamb rushing towards me. "Going to cheat again?" I demanded, but she just pounced on to me, hugging me tightly and sobbing like crazy.

"Josh...please...help me," she begged. "You can change things. Please bring me back my brother!"

"Lamb?"

"Wolf is dead," she wailed, burying her face into my shirt. "Jhin killed my brother, please. You have to help me."

I grasped her shoulders and angrily shoved her away from me. "Seriously? You think I'm going to believe that after what you pulled last time?!" She looked up at me in shock as I clenched my fist. "You lied to me, Lamb! You betrayed me! You made me think I loved you then you used me to...to…" I couldn't even finish the sentence my blood was boiling so furiously. "Go find someone else to be your plaything."

"No, Josh, please. That was supposed to happen! I swear, it was in the book! But this...this is something different! This wasn't meant to happen. Now I'm...I'm alone! I can't be alone, I'm not meant to be alone."

My eyes ignited in flames as I stormed to her teeth clenched. "Deal with it! You think I wanted to be alone? Do you think I wanted to be betrayed by someone just because some stupid book told her to betray me?"

"I didn't," she whispered.

"Yes, you did!"

"I _do_ love you!"

"You don't know what love is. You're not capable of love." Taking her mask, I threw it to clatter on the ground in front of her as her tears continued to fall. "You're good at faking emotions, Lamb. I'll give you that. But you're still just as cold and heartless as you ever were. I just wish I'd been smart enough to see that earlier."

"He's you!" She cried, causing me to freeze. "Jhin...he looks just like you!"

I turned to look back at her to see her clutching her mask tightly. "What the hell did you just say to me?"

"Jhin is you. I saw his face. I felt his lips on mine. The two of you are the same, I know it. I tried to harvest him, but like you, he's the only one I can't kill." Again I turned away from her. This was the last thing I wanted to hear. Things were confusing enough as they were. I didn't want to hear that once more the chessboard had been changed. By now, I wasn't even sure who was the enemy and who was an ally anymore.

"Fine," I admitted at last. "I'll help you...somehow. But once it's over, I don't _ever_ want to see you again. Understand?"

"Perfectly," she agreed a little too eagerly. I frowned, turning from her and closing my eyes tightly. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to unfreeze time, obviously."

"Josh, you can't…" her words were interrupted as once again color roared into life around us. Light of recognition lit up in Nidalee's eyes as she recoiled from the sudden appearance of not only Lamb, but her without her mask. "What in Gods' name?" Lamb murmured, absolutely stupefied by my ability.

"Nid, you've met. Ahri, Riven, this is Lamb," I introduced grumpily, moving to stand a little closer to Nidalee. It wasn't that I feared Lamb would kill me necessarily. More so that I wanted to be further from her and closer to the person I trusted.

Lamb slowly went for her mask, the other two trembling while Nidalee stayed completely silent. "Oh Gods, then...you weren't joking," Ahri breathed.

"You fucked Death...you legitimately fucked Death," Riven whispered in awe, her hand reaching out to gently tug on Lamb's floppy ear. She let out an irritated whine, tugging her ear away and affixing her mask back over her face.

Seemingly shaking it off, Ahri nudged me with her elbow smiling. "She's a cutie. As far as first times go, you could do **much** worse."

"You mean like an evil summoner hell bent on world domination?"

Her ears drooped. "That cuts deep, Kiba…"

"Josh."

"Wait a minute! You wrote that, too!" she hissed, turning on me. "You son of a bitch! You're the reason he did all those…"

"Are those babies?!" Lamb suddenly squealed in excitement, interposing herself between the two of us and looking at the twins in awe.

"Erm...yes?" Ahri tried.

"I almost never get to see them! Whenever I have to collect their adorable little souls, we just assume they take the arrow because...well they can't exactly run and on top of that they can't even say what their choice is. But I've always thought that they were _so_ cute!"

I'd never seen Lamb show this much emotion, even when we'd made love. "Erm...Lamb?" I tried, but she shushed me, resting her soft furry hands on their heads, much to Ahri's disapproval. When she realized, however, that Lamb wasn't collecting them, she surrendered.

"Would you like to hold one?" she asked, causing Lamb to glance up at her in shock.

"Can I really?!"

"Sure, just be careful," she replied, offering her to Lamb. "Cradle their head. Their not quite strong enough to…"

"Oh, I know! I've read all about them. I'm actually very well versed in child development." She gently rocked Vix who smiled and giggled. This was beyond bizarre to witness.

Riven seemed absolutely horrified at what she'd stated, but Ahri seemed surprisingly calm about it. "Ahri? How can you be so okay with this?"

"Riven, she's Death. It's not like she's going to kill my baby and then reap it. I figure that if the angel of Death is holding her, she's probably in the safest place in the world right now."

"Lamb...you weren't you concerned about...you know...Wolf? We've kind of got more important things to worry about at the moment. Like how the Hell we protect you from Jhin."

"Don't bother trying," she cooed, gently tapping Vix on the nose. "Manifesto says that we can't ever stop him. Eventually he'll kill all of us, yes he will."

Taking the baby from her arms, I quickly handed her back to Ahri, my eyes returning to glare at Lamb. "I know you're not telling me that you lied to me _again!_ " My voice was a low snarl. "Gods damn it. I'm _trying_ to help, Lamb! Don't you get it?! I don't care what Manifesto says because this is my damned life! It's not set in stone! There is no 'absolute' future! This is why I can't trust you, Lamb."

She fell silent, frowning as her eyes went to her feet. "Sorry."

"No, not 'sorry'. Sorry implies you don't intend on doing it again! But I'm willing to put money down that says you genuinely don't give a damn about anyone else! You saw something good for yourself at the end of Manifesto, so you're just trying to go through the motions to get to it, no matter who you hurt along the way!"

"Josh, calm down…" Nid whispered.

"I'm not going to calm down! She's supposed to be helping me save the world not manipulating me to do whatever she wants and just letting it go down the drain! She even came to me in tears telling me that her brother was dead and that she wanted my help. Is he even dead? Or did you just turn your back on him like you have everyone else?!"

"Why are you being like this?" Lamb asked, tilting her head slightly. "You're being rude."

"I'm being rude?!" I scoffed. "You know what's rude, Lamb? Hmm? I think it's rude when people put others so far after themselves that it's as if there is no life outside their own. I think it's rude when people treat others as toys or pawns in a game instead of living human beings!" Turning, I went to leave. I must have said something to set Lamb off, because the world froze around me before she materialized in front of me. "What now?!"

"Why is it that you only use female characters in your stories?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You almost never have male characters, I realized. Sure you have your Original Characters, but how often do you have a male from the game? It's far rarer."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything right now?"

"Because you're just as manipulative as I am. You like to pretend you're all high and mighty, but that's what your writing is really about isn't it? That's why characters who are normally supposed to be strong and confidant end up meek and shy in your stories."

"I know you are _not_ accusing me of…"

"Sexism?" she interrupted, a smirk coming to her face. "I don't know. What do you call it when you take women and shove them into a cookie cutter for your own personal gratification?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you," I growled, moving past her, but she grabbed my wrist. I spun on her raising my fist, but I stopped, my entire body trembling with anger.

"Come on, then. Hit me. You want to, don't you? So do it! Hit me! What's stopping you from hitting me?"

"Let go of me," I hissed.

"Make me."

Grabbing her wrist with my other hand, I drew it to me before pulling at her thumb to wrench her grip off of me. As soon as I did, she let out a cry of pain causing me to freeze until I realized she still was wearing that smile on her face. Taking her hand off of my wrist, I went to walk away again.

"You stopped because you thought you hurt me," she taunted. "Oh look at the big strong man, thinks he's so much better than…"

"SHUT UP!" I roared. "Just...shut up."

"Ah...there you are," she whispered, walking up to me and placing a gentle hand on my cheek. "So that's what you look like when the mask slips. When that 'good guy' bravado fades away to anger."

I swept her cheek from my face, turning again to leave. I had to get away from her. "Leave me alone," I begged. "Just please, stop."

"So what is your problem, anyway? What is it that you have so deeply buried inside of you that makes you hate women?"

"I don't hate them!" I protested. "I'm...I'm scared of them, okay?"

"Scared of women?" she taunted. "Why are you so scared of them? You're so big and strong and yet you're scared of a delicate little…"

"THAT!" I snapped. "That's the reason I'm scared of them! That stupid macho bravado bullshit that the entire world feels the need to conform to, only to turn around and bitch about it! There's no point in explaining it to you, because you wouldn't get it anyway."

"Try."

"Why are you doing this? This isn't like you."

Her voice softened slightly as she took a deep breath. "I know. All right? I know I'm not being like myself. But _you_ don't understand. I'm doing all of this because what happens at the end of Manifesto is something I've only dreamt about. For a very long time I've been wishing for it to happen. If you were in my shoes...you'd do the exact same thing."

"No. I really wouldn't."

"You can't escape me. No more than you can escape your fears. So you may as well explain it anyway."

"Look, you're right. I'm a big guy. When people see me, they immediately pull away because they're intimidated by me. That's if I'm lucky. Otherwise, they become aggressive and mean. It's the stupid prison mentality bullshit. Show someone that you're to be feared and then you don't have to be afraid of them. It's not something I can help, either. People are naturally afraid of me. I can't even go into a grocery store without someone lecturing me for being 'rude' or something stupid. I don't talk to people. I don't do anything. I stand in line silently with what I want to buy and people still give me crap."

"What does that have to do with women?"

"Because, they're the worst ones," I swallowed. "It helps to know that if some guy is giving me shit and were to take a swing at me, I _could_ fight him. I can't fight a woman, though."

"Why not? That seems stupid."

"You think I don't know that? Where I live, women are pampered. They're placed on a pedestal. It's how I was raised: treat women well. Protect them. Help them whenever I see that they need it. I've stuck to it, too. I've lived my life chivalrously, and do you know what I've gotten for living that life? Nothing but grief. Something as simple as holding a door open causes some women to stop and berate me for 'treating them as weak', regardless of the fact that I do it for everyone."

"Then, why don't you just stop doing that?"

"Because then they turn around and complain that chivalry is dead. People will always take the benefits and try to leave the drawbacks. It's another reason I don't talk to people. If I don't say anything, then there's nothing they can get upset about me having said." My eyes went to the ground as I took deep breaths. "It's true I fear women more than I fear men, but it's because where I'm from, women are far more to be feared than men are. It takes little less than a false accusation with no proof to ruin a man's life, and I've seen it happen, even to my friends. I had a friend who was thrown in prison because a girl accused him of rape. She wanted to stop in the middle of them having sex. My friend sensed this and asked her if she wanted to stop. She said she was fine. She reported him for rape after that anyway, simply because when she said 'she was fine' she lied and expected him to catch her in it."

"That's _one_ person."

"It's not just that," I murmured. "Did you read any of the other stories? In A Boy and His Fox, Kal cheats on Ahri with Lux. To be more specific, Lux saved his life, and when he did the honorable thing of telling her he'd repay her however she wished, she made him have sex with her. In the end, Ahri forgives him. It was meant to show how much stronger their love for eachother had become. Being able to forgive someone for anything when they're truly repentant is a sign of true love, at least, I think so. Even still, after I posted the chapter, I received flurries of hate mail. Who do you think they were angry with most?"

"I...don't know…?"

"Kal. Everyone hated him. Everyone treated him like he was some sort of monster for cheating on Ahri. The fact Ahri forgave him wasn't an act of love, it was an act of 'subservience' to show that she was weak and that Kal had power over her. No one had anything bad to say about Lux. No one had anything awful to say about the person who manipulated and abused what should have been a kindness to get something they knew the other person would never do otherwise. No, it was all Kal's fault, and do you know why? It's because he was a man."

"You can't possibly know that."

"Want to bet?" I shot back. "Imagine if the roles had been switched. Maybe Kal approaches Lux after saving her life and demands sex, when she's supposed to be with Arcturus. Do you know what that does to him? That makes him a villain. What would make Lux an innocent bystander makes Kal into a monster. I'm afraid of women, Lamb, because when women are involved I feel like I have to walk on eggshells. Anything I say, anything I do could lead to at best, looks of disdain, at worst prison time. I've told you before, it's in my nature to protect people. I want to save people. I want to help. But what can I do when helping them is viewed as hurting them?"

"Would you like a woman's perspective?" Lamb asked.

"Does yours even count? You're written by a man. No matter what you say, people will disregard it as some stupid 'male privilege'. I can accept that life has double standards. I can't accept when half of them are ignored, but the other half is trying to tip the scales one way or another."

"Women are different," she stated, deciding to try her best anyway. "We live in a world of subtext and hidden meanings. When someone says 'you don't look so good', they aren't concerned, they're being insulting. You should know, you wrote the interactions between Lux and Fiora. Imagine going through your entire life like that. How would you ever know what someone means when they say something?"

"People should just say what they mean and mean what they say," I grumbled.

"They should, but they don't. I know you know why, too. It's about outward appearances, right? When you're angry, how do you show it positively? Tell people you're angry? How often have people cared whether or not you're angry? So...we make them care. We scare the living hell out of them by making loud noises or standing in a way that denotes aggression, at which point, in concern for themselves, they stop doing what makes you angry...sometimes. The common thought is that a good woman is a quiet woman. A woman who nods her head and is obedient and gentle. Otherwise, she won't have a man to love her. She won't have a family. A woman without a family, isn't a woman at all."

"Maybe that's how it used to be," I sighed, "but it's not like that anymore. The world is always changing. Even now, things are different. Women don't have to be the domestic spouse anymore. Women are able to work and have dreams and be single if they want to."

"And men are able to be stay at home dads, be submissive, and meek." She smirked at me, nudging me with her hips and a grin. "Have you ever gotten any grief for being that way? Any, 'you're not a man unless you've had sex'?"

"People assume that's all I care about," I agreed. "For the record, it never has been. If I _wanted_ to have sex, I'd have sex. If I had any interest in not giving a damn about other people, I'd work towards that. But I don't. I don't care about getting laid and I don't care about being more selfish. There are times, I'll admit, I wish I was. Sometimes, I want to be a worse person, so I stop worrying about all of the things I do that could make me seem like one."

"And other times you wish you were a better one, so you'd know you wouldn't do them."

I chuckled, sitting on a bench. "I guess, we've already had that talk, then."

"Still. It applies."

She sat beside me, resting her hand on mine. "Why did you have sex with me? Don't tell me it's because you love me. I think we both know that's not true."

"On the contrary," she smiled, "if not for the fact that I'm already in love with someone else, you'd definitely have the potential to be the person I fall in love with."

"Oh, so you do have someone you are in love with," I teased, a grin on my face. "Who's this, I wonder. An original character I'm unaware of, perhaps?"

"To be honest, I don't even know," she explained. "But he's amazing. I've watched him shape this world many times over without batting an eye. He's saved countless lives, hasn't taken a single one. He's saved you too, you know?"

"Me?"

"Ever wonder how we found you?"

"Many times."

"We were looking...for him. Golden chimes seem to follow him everywhere. Beautiful lights show where he is and where he's been. I've seen him a few times. I've even stolen a kiss from him...once. Shortly after I met you, actually."

"What's his name?"

"If I knew it, I'd tell you. He doesn't really talk. All I know is, if I keep doing what Manifesto tells me to, eventually, I'll be able to see his face. He'll fix everything. No more, Jhin. Wolf will be alive. No more…" Her voice trailed off as something suddenly occurred to her.

"What?"

"No more, you."

An icy chill ran down my spine. "I'm going to die?"

"No," she replied. "Just...disappear. Manifesto says that today is the last time any of your friends saw you. I'm...not sure if that includes me or not. It doesn't say much about me, to be perfectly honest. All I know is that every now and then, the book surprises me, or rather, you do something that was not in the book."

"If it's any consolation," I replied, "if my life was all that stood between you and happiness, I'd give it up in a second."

"How can you even say that?"

"Because it's true. Think of how my life has been. I'm not even really the person I think I am. I'm just some representative construct he hurled into the world to serve as a proxy. He knows how this is going to end, but he still makes people suffer for it anyway. I can't decide whether he's a hero or a villain."

"Ever think maybe, he feels the same way?"

I shrugged, "I suppose it's not really my business. Either way, I'm glad to have met you and everyone else. If this is my last day, I'll just have to make the most…" There was a loud explosion. "Of…" My head turned to see that Lamb's mask had been cleaved clean in two. Her body crumbled to dust, leaving the two halves of her wooden mask on the ground.

"Finally," Jhin grumbled before blowing the smoke from the tip of his barrel. Smirking at me, his eyes gleamed. "Any last words? I'd make them quick if I were you, Joshua. I fear you don't have much time left before you're gone. Don't worry though, I'll see if I can jog up some memory of you in Ahri, before I end her."

Holding the two halves of Lamb's mask my hands trembled. My skin began to become translucent as I held them close to my chest, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 14

Manifesto Ch. 14

 **AN: Hey everyone, sorry this took me so long. Things are starting to wrap up it would seem. Recently, I've been going through some crises involving my financial situation. I always hate asking for money from you guys, but I currently have a Pratreon set up under Kiba Elunal. Any amount helps, even just pledging a dollar a month can make a difference for me. So please, if you enjoy my work, I need your help. If you have no money, that's okay. I understand. You can still help me by going to my blog and following it. Kibaelunal. Blogspot. com. The more pluses I get on it, the more reputation I'll have an eventually I'll be able to collect Ad Revenue. It's full of writing tips and I've even done a fan fiction critique. I'm working on uploading more content to it, but again, I really need help. Thank you all so much for your support. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

"You...you did this…" I murmured, staring up at Jhin as he came closer to me. "You killed her... you killed me...why? All of these people...all of my original characters...the entire universe! Why?! Why would you kill everything?! You'll die too!"

"You don't get it, do you?" he argued, tucking his gun back into its holster. "Have you seriously learned nothing?"

"I know who you are Jhin," I seethed, struggling to stay corporeal. "I know why you wear that mask! Lamb told me everything! I know who you are! You're _him_! You're the real Joshua Roberts, aren't you?! Admit it!"

"Idiot. I'm no more him than you are."

"Then who are you?!"

"I am the Ancient Mariner," he hummed, pacing around me curiously. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "So he didn't give you that tidbit? Probably so that he can give exposition to the audience. He can't expect everyone to have the same knowledge of literature. Very well, I'll explain. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner…"

"Yeah, I'm familiar with it. What's your point?"

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," he repeated, his eyes narrowing at me from behind the mask, "is an older work of art. Written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798 C.E. or A.D. if you're a man of faith. As you may already have noted, _he_ greatly enjoys putting references to his favorite works into his stories. Your's alone has already referenced Sir Terry Pratchet, Robert Frost, and even the great H.P. Lovecraft."

"Yes, yes. He's an egotistical bastard, I'm aware! Are you about finished?"

"No. Because you clearly still don't understand. It seems I will have to walk you through this, one step at a time. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poetical ballad. It tells a story full of suspense, danger, the supernatural, but most importantly...it teaches a lesson. No doubt rolling around in that head of yours, there is the knowledge of the lesson I speak. A man sails on a ship through the land of ice and snow to the far south. There, he kills an albatross, for seemingly no reason, and as punishment, he is forced to wear the bird around his neck. The crew curses him, but when its death causes the storm that's trapped them to end, they praise him and tell him he was right to kill the bird. It is a sign of the hypocrisy of man. Destruction can be both good and bad. It can be beautiful and hideous at the same time. Even Kindred is a representation of destruction's duality, just as you and I are."

"I'm not destructive," I argued, causing him to let out a dark and sinister cackle. "I'm not!"

"Lie to yourself all you want, but don't lie to _them_."

"Them?"

"The audience of course! They've been watching all this time. Staring over your shoulder, watching your thoughts and actions, waiting to see if you succeed or if you fail. Yet you disappoint them. You can't please everyone, it's a truth of the world, but we are once again getting off topic. The Ancient Mariner sails with the crew, and many things occur. The wind stops, there is no rain. 'Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink…' as it were. They blame him once again, and so there he goes, once more wearing the albatross. It is a symbol, like a cross! Well, they meet another ship. There, Death and Life-in-Death, your darling Wolf and Lamb, are rolling dice for the souls of the ship. Death wins the crew, Life-in-Death wins the Mariner. He is stuck upon the ship for eternity, but there he learns a lesson. The foul slimy serpents of the sea that he had once insulted, he now sees as beautiful, and he blesses them, causing the crew to suddenly leap up and steer his ship. He sails all the way home, until finally he is given his curse…"

"Yeah, to pass along a story."

"NO!" Jhin boomed, slamming his fist hard against a wall. "No, his curse is that he must teach a _lesson_. He must show the world his mistakes and what he's done wrong and he must hope from the very bottom of his soul that they take his words and they find meaning in them. He goes to many people, unable to die, and he forces them to listen to his lesson time and time again, and every time, he has no choice but to move on to teach someone else. Well now it's your turn. I will tell you the lesson I have learned and you _will_ hear it."

The two of us stared one another down. Still my body was beginning to fade. "You'd better be quick about it then," I growled.

"My lesson is an easy one. One I'm sure you can grasp easily, at least. We are not _him_ , but that does not mean that he is not us."

"You're talking in circles. You're insane."

"Insane?!" Jhin chortled, shaking his head. "Is it insane to see the world for what it truly is? Is it insane to gaze upon a dream and seek meaning in it?"

"It's insane to live in one," I countered.

"Then perhaps it is not I who is insane, but our creator. This world, the one we're in, this is his dream! This is the reality he wishes, more than anything, to be a part of! He wants to be here, he wants to live the lives we live, and he wishes he could take all that comes with it. You see, you aren't him...but he lives through you. He lives through me, he lives through all of us!"

"So what? You killed them so he'll only be able to live through you?! Is that what you're saying?"

Jhin let out a frustrated cry. "No, you belligerent fool! He is killing _himself_!" I couldn't believe what I heard. The real Joshua was killing himself? "Don't you see now? Why else would he create me and tell me to destroy his other creations? They are all aspects of himself! Look at them, and tell me what you see! Look at Kal and his sense of justice! Look at Thane and his sexual desires! Look at them all and tell me that he is not there in every single one! They are all the same! Sure, he may be able to take different masks. He hides himself well in each one, but look closely and the dots all come together. Each one finds their way to love. Each one struggles, in some way, against what could be seen as some great evil! Each one has someone who loves and is entirely devoted to them with no will to betray them for to them he is a god! Have you not stopped to ask yourself, why? Why does he only write with original characters? Why is it that every romance contains some aspect of himself and another, someone devoted to him fully? It's because he is arrogant and selfish, and having seen that in himself, he now wishes he were dead. That is who I am, fool. I am his release. I am his deliverer from suffering. I am his DEATH!"

"You're so full of shit," I argued, trying to stand up. My shape was beginning to take hold. "He's not trying to kill himself! I don't know what he says to you or why he wants you to kill his characters, but if he wanted to off himself, I think he'd know the best way to do it!"

"You overestimate his bravery," Jhin smirked.

"You underestimate his ego."

"He's not wrong," a voice spoke, causing me to wheel about. Behind me, I came face to face with myself. "Jhin's right...I am killing myself."

"Another one of your tricks...Jhin?" I asked, turning to see that I was now alone save the reflection. Turning back to face him, I found that my body was now back to its form. "You...you're really him, aren't you? Why? Why are you doing this?"

He said nothing at first, staring at the ground in sadness...shame, maybe. "This was never for the fame...not at first."

"Not at first?"

"I wrote A Boy and His Fox, not because I wanted to become famous, but simply because I loved to write. I started out believing that my work would go unnoticed. I expected a few to read it, certainly, but I didn't expect anything to come out of it. I wrote a story, one that I loved and could live in so that I could escape the world around me. Every day, people suffer. Every day, I can do nothing to stop it. Everyone expects this to be some universal truth. The world suffers, and that's all there is to it."

"So, what? People started liking it and you're a big shot now, so you have to act the part?"

"I still don't know why. I've asked and the answers I get aren't ones that help me. 'It's different than other things.' 'It's refreshing.' 'It's well written.' It's all a bunch of bullshit."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's true. Do you know why A Boy and His Fox works the way it does? I wanted to write a story that for once doesn't worry about silly fads. Maybe I like the knight in shining armor coming to save the princess. Maybe I like having an obvious bad guy and an obvious good guy. Maybe I like having evil lose and good win!"

"You started this because of a question…"

"Yes, yes. The question. If you were bound to a champion, which champion would you bind yourself to? Ahri! I'd bind myself to Ahri. Why? Because I like her character design? Because foxes are my favorite animal? No, I'd bind myself for a far shallower reason than that."

"Because she's beautiful…"

"Because she's beautiful," he agreed.

"Then...why lie? Why tell everyone all of this deep philosophical crap?"

"You know that answer. You've uttered it on your lips many times since you came here. It's simple. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of the world around me. I'm afraid of men and women and my role in the world and of being forgotten and...I'm afraid of everything but dying. Even if I were to try to kill myself, I'd be too afraid of what I'd leave behind. I made this world and these people because inside I am so utterly and helplessly alone."

"Alone? You have hundreds of thousands of readers and you think you're alone? You had some friends who forgot you, but that doesn't mean everyone will," I tried, but he just shook his head.

"The world doesn't care about me. The world doesn't care about anyone unless you make them care."

"You think killing off your own characters will make them care?" I demanded. "Taking away the thing that makes people care will make them care?"

"No...I'm thinking that it's sad and pathetic that I'm relying so heavily on fan fiction in hopes that I'll make myself popular. I'm tired of having to stare at my work, only to know that it is truly the only reason I am liked by anyone."

"That's why you created Jhin?"

"Yes," he admitted with a sigh. "But...I have another contingency."

"Contingency?"

"What is your opinion on it?"

"The same as yours, probably."

"That's not what I asked you."

"I think that if you honestly meant what you put in my head, if you really viewed this world as real, if you really cared AT ALL as you've claimed to…"

"That I undo everything Jhin has. Is that what you wanted to say?" I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I can't," he stated.

"Why not?! You're a god here! You change whatever you want! You make anything you want to happen, happen."

He frowned, scratching his cheek. "Do you know what separates a good writer from a great writer?" he asked. "A good writer creates a world and controls it. A great writer creates a world and lets it run its course. You assume I'm supposed to be a puppet master: I make the characters do what they do, I make the things that happen happen, but that's NOT how it works!"

"Then how does it work?"

"I don't know! I don't make the damned rules, I just follow them, understand?!"

His frustration was greatly rising, and it was then that something in my head just clicked. He wasn't a god...he wasn't all powerful or all knowing...he was just a man. "They decide, don't they? The characters."

"I'm a grower, not an architect," he replied. "George R. R. Martin once said there are two kinds of writers. Architects who sit and plan the entire world and story out before even typing a word and growers who plant a seed and watch how the story grows over time. I make the characters...after that everything is out of my hands."

"So what? You just let Jhin win? Your stories die with the characters and you can't do a damned thing to stop it?!" I demanded, my voice growing louder with my anger. "All of those innocent people are heartbroken or dead!"

"Now it's time for me to tell you a story," he whispered. "A story about a writer."

"God damn it, not this bullshit again. Jhin told me he was the Ancient Mariner, and what, you're going to just give me some huge explanation or his explanation?! Just tell me what's going on!"

"For a long time I've been thinking about ending my career as a writer," he stated, causing me to fall silent. "Okay? I...I struggle to find the point in it all. Not just in my writing but in my life. I'm twenty five years old, just turned. It took me _four_ years to get an associate's degree. I'm stuck in a dead end job making half-wages as a teaching assistant, after I ended up doing a majority of the work for almost no pay just last year."

"I still don't understand. What does any of that have to do with me or with writing?"

"I can't make this decision, do you understand? I don't trust myself and I don't trust anyone else either. That's why I made you. I made you and Jhin to analyze my life and my writing and to find out if it's truly worth something."

"But Jhin didn't do what he was supposed to?"

"No, he did exactly what he was supposed to. You didn't. Not yet, anyway."

"Not yet? I'm dead! Jhin killed Lamb and Wolf and now I'm going to cease to exist, just like all the others."

"They haven't ceased to exist," he murmured. "I can't make them cease to exist, no one can. They've come to existence and nothing can take that away. I ended their stories. It's what would happen to them if I suddenly stopped writing their stories all together. Ekko had nothing to do with Brett. He's never met him. That's some false memory that you created yourself. Killing Ahri, that was what eliminated Brett. The entire universe? Yeah, she's the backbone of it. You messed up and I tried giving you a second chance and it worked out...well better than it did. You want to know the truth? The reason why Lamb has been acting so strangely around you?"

"Yes."

"You went off the rails," he stated. "You've changed what you were supposed to do, and I can't stop you. I can't unwrite you from existence. You simply are. You changed Manifesto. What was written down is not what has been happening, and when that happens, Lamb can't predict the future...so she's scared. She's afraid of you, she's afraid of the future, and for once she's tasted mortality. I made a mistake when I made you."

I clenched my fists tightly, trying to wrap my head around everything he was telling me. "What mistake?"

"I created you based on what I thought would happen...but as the story, your story, has progressed...you've learned. You learned things that I didn't know and because of that what I thought would happen, hasn't happened. You've done things I cannot. You've even realized it yourself. I can't talk to pretty girls. I even stammer and stutter around Remy and we've been together for almost six years. But you can. You can talk to Lamb and Ahri and everyone else. You can express your feelings and thoughts and you can solve people's problems and you can argue for yourself. You can do things that I can't do, understand? Lamb was right, you're not me, even though I wanted you to be."

The two of us stood there in silence. I knew he was right. Looking on the sad, scared man, I could see that we were separated completely. "So what happens now? You just end the story here and pretend like it didn't happen? You continue writing out of fear that nothing else you do will matter?"

"No. Now, the story truly begins. You start over, from the beginning. I'm giving you control of the universe. From this point on, whether or not I continue writing, that's all up to you."

I was growing frustrated with him now. I couldn't believe he was shoving this on me. "So, you're too scared to make the choice yourself so you made someone else to make it for you. You are such a cowardly, pathetic…" I caught myself, taking another deep breath to calm down. "Why? Why are you so scared about making this decision? I can understand, even empathize with the rest, but why the decision?"

"Because it has to be fair. I made Jhin based on one decision...to stop writing. You are the other half of the decision. He is the destroyer, that makes you the creator. You've already done it once. You saved Sona by completing her story. You showed her that there was a reason to continue the story. I need you to do the same for me. Complete my story so I can know whether or not it's time to end it."

"How am I supposed to do that? You wrote Sona's ending, you know how it ends in your head already. How am I supposed to come up with an ending you don't know?"

"Because that's who you are," he tried. "You and Jhin were protected, do you know why?" I shook my head. "Because you two are special. You're original characters, but at the same time, you're not."

Now I was surprised. I wasn't an original character? "But I look just like Kiba Elunal. How can you say I'm not an original character."

"As stereotypical as it is, it's because you haven't awakened to your true self yet. The truth is you've always existed. Throughout all of my stories, you've always been there. Unseen, unheard, but you've been there. You're always there. You're everywhere something important in the universe happens."

"I think I'd remember that."

"Not yet, you don't. It hasn't happened. Once you agree to help me, you're going to start over. All the way from the beginning. From the moment that Ahri first becomes a human, you will be there for every war, every battle, every romance and heart break, you will be there to witness it and you will be there to document it, and if necessary...fix it. You changed Manifesto, well now you're going to be the one who writes it."

"Me?"

"You. This world isn't mine, understand? I wish from the bottom of my heart that it was. I put you in here to try to live your life, but instead, you changed. You became happy and I stayed exactly where we started. That's why it's your choice what happens or doesn't."

"I still don't understand. Why are you killing yourself? Are you trying to prove a point?"

"The point's been made for me, many times over. Do you know what thing hurts me the most? The thing that absolutely breaks my heart time and time again?"

"That you're not with Ahri?"

"That none of my friends in the waking world read my fan fiction. Not one. Remy has never even read A Boy and His Fox. She claims she didn't understand it because she didn't play League, so I wrote another story. I wrote Trinity Wars. It was original, so she could read it and still understand...but she didn't. No one has. My friends praise me on my writing, but they don't even read it to know what they're praising. In life and literature, I will always be alone. I tried to make a world to escape to, and now...now it's time for you to go."

"Go where?" I demanded of him. "If you want to kill yourself by destroying everything you've worked for in the last five years who am I to stop you, huh?"

"That's your choice," he replied. "Not mine."

"You really are a coward," I scoffed. "All you're doing is hiding. You hid behind your past, your friends, Remy...You hid behind them all, and that wasn't working anymore. So then you hid behind a fictional world. You tried to hide yourself in it away from everyone, but even _that_ didn't work. So now you're hiding behind me. You can't even face up to the people who admire you and tell them how you really feel, so you want me to do it!"

"Goodbye, caretaker. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. I wish you the luck I have never had."

Before I could argue with him further, a bright blue light flooded my vision, and I could feel myself hurtling through a portal. I was in total oblivion. Nothing anywhere except for bright blue. And then...I heard a bell.

Just like when I first awoke, I found myself laying on the floor of a forest. For a moment, I simply laid there, staring up at the canopy of trees. Had it all been some sort of twisted dream? Somehow, it all felt so unreal, and yet I could feel the crushing weight of my task on my shoulders.

Something nudged my head, sniffing me curiously to identify just what strange manner of thing had manifested within its home. Rolling over, I looked into the golden eyes of a white and black fox. It stared up at me for a second, tilting its head in bewilderment. It was beautiful, really.

As I reached out towards it slowly, it sniffed my hand once, before its ears twitched. Turning, it fled from me. It was only then I realized that it had not one, but a cluster of tails extending from its back. Ahri?

I ran after her, leaping over a fallen log and ducking beneath the tree branches in my path, trying to find where she was going. I was not alone in chasing her however. I could feel something or someone moving, somewhere off in the forest.

Just as she broke into a clearing, I heard the sound of thunder, followed by a cruel chuckle. "Come then, Noxian scum! Is that the best you can do?!" Oh Gods, I was in the middle of the Ionian Conflict?

My head turned to see Arashi, wildly spinning in a flurry of strikes that served to easily incapacitate the soldiers before they could even get close to him. Off to the side, I saw her: Ahri was walking towards a mage that was beginning to prepare a spell from far away. He was going to hit Arashi! Rushing towards him without a second thought, I struck him hard with my full weight, sending him crashing into a tree trunk just behind him.

Having been knocked unconscious, the mage slowly slid down the tree. Ahri approached him, sniffing him carefully before suddenly she pounced on him. Striking him hard in the chest, there was a bright flash of light as his life essence suddenly seemed to pour into her.

When the light faded, she sat there, on her knees and utterly confused. Her entire body was exposed to me, and I could feel a warmth in my cheeks as she looked around herself. "What happened to me?" she asked no one in particular, her hands moving to caress her body. "I'm...human?"

She cupped her breasts, lifting them before releasing them so that they would bounce. She repeated the process a few times, before noticing that her tails were still swishing behind her.

"I'm not," she murmured, almost sadly as she ran her fingers slowly along her tail. "At least, not completely...maybe if I keep doing what I did to this one, I'll be more human?" Another loud crack of thunder, and I could see Arashi turning to hurl a bolt of lightning towards the man.

I shoved Ahri hard out of the way, the lightning frying the mage almost instantly. I could see Ahri stare up at me, completely speechless. She could see me? It didn't seem like Arashi could, as he hadn't even acknowledged my presence.

"Who are you?" she whispered finally.

"Are...you talking to me?" I asked.

She nodded slowly, almost in awe. "Are you one of the Kindred? Perhaps a forest spirit?"

"What are you talking about? I'm a human," I replied, scratching my cheek. As I did, I realized that instead of skin, I now felt wood covering my face. A mask?

"You don't _look_ human," she commented. Just as I was about to respond, Arashi came closer, causing her to turn and bolt through the woods. "Come on, this way!" she cried to me, waving me towards her.

Without anywhere else to go, I quickly pursued her until she disappeared behind a tree. Swirling this way and that, I couldn't seem to see her. "Ahri?" I called out, trying to find her. "Where are you?"

Another chime off in the distance. Was Ahri there? I bolted that direction, only to find the chime was leading me towards the opposite end of the battle field. Did she double back? As I broke once more into the meadow, I found that time had stopped. Arashi was grasping the shirt of the mage, his fist cocked back and ready to strike him. Beside him, three figures stood.

"It is time," a low voice growled. "You _will_ answer the question. The hunt…"

"...or the arrow?" the other finished. Lamb? Wolf? They were alive!

I moved closer to them, just as the man turned and bolted away through the woods. With a fanged grin, Wolf nodded to Lamb and dashed off in pursuit of the soon to be deceased mage. She however, remained completely still.

Coming towards her, she seemed confused almost. "How did this happen?" she asked out loud to no one. "It should have been this human who died, not this one...I do not understand."

A branch snapped under my foot, causing her to wheel about suddenly, arrow drawn and ready to fire, but when she saw me she paused. I waved nervously to her. Did she recognize me?

"Who are you?" she asked, answering my question by proxy. "How is it you can see me and travel this way? It is an ability saved only for the Kindred."

I couldn't begin to explain the feelings that began to flood my heart. She was alive! Jhin hadn't killed her. Before she could react, I wrapped my arms tightly around her, drawing her into a hug. "I missed you," I whispered. "I know I yelled at you before, but I missed you so badly when you were gone."

"Stop embracing me, creature," she replied plainly. "Why is it you wish to do such things to me?"

"Because, I missed you," I repeated. "We're friends, see? It's me, it's Josh!"

She paused for a moment before slowly bringing her bow to rest, the arrow disappearing in a cloud of mist. "Fine," she stated. "Do not answer me. So long as you do not interfere, I see no reason you cannot travel here."

So she couldn't hear me either. Why was it Ahri could, but not Lamb? It was then I felt something nudge against my leg. Looking down, a small golden light stared up at me. "Kiiibaaa," it whispered in a soft echo, before floating up to nudge my hip.

There was a book strapped to my hip, and various scrolls as well as an odd looking telescope. They certainly had not been there before. Following my eyes, Lamb fell upon them. "What is that?" she asked, pointing at the book.

Grasping it, it came off with a tug. After a moment, I offered it to her to inspect. "I'm not sure," I told her, though she couldn't understand. Off in the woods, Wolf let out a triumphant howl, causing Lamb to straighten.

"Pardon, I must leave. Dearest Wolf has claimed his victory. Thank you for your gift, though. I will examine it later."

Before I could protest that it wasn't a gift, she took off, leaving me alone with tiny golden creature. "Who are?" It asked in its echoing voices.

That was a good question. I wasn't Josh...not really. But I wasn't anyone else, either. Gently, I held out my finger, allowing it to perch there as I examined its miniscule face closely. Who was I? Not Kiba, not Josh. My mind went back to Sona, the way she'd smiled at me and simply vanished from the tracks once she'd learned of her story. What was it that she'd called me, then? My lips parted, and one word escaped. It would be my new name, I decided. It would be my identity and once I'd said it, I'd be as real and concrete as anything else in this realm. "Bard."

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 15

Manifesto Ch. 16

Pulling another book from my hip, I began to walk through the tattered battle field where Arashi had slaughtered the platoon of Noxians. I made notes of what I saw, what had happened, the things I felt and observed. It was all so surreal. I still didn't know if I believed Josh when he'd told me my duty, but yet, here I was, writing Manifesto from the very start.

"Hello? Forest spirit?" Ahri's soft voice called to me, causing me to stop and look to her. "Oh! There you are! I was worried that human had hurt you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I assured her. "I'm simply taking notes."

She moved to my side, sniffing me with an animalistic curiosity. "You don't smell familiar," she noted. "I was certain I hadn't seen you in the woods before."

"I'm new," I explained briefly as she circled about me. Gods, she wasn't wearing any clothes still. I tried to avert my eyes from her body, but it was very difficult. Rather than writing her down as nude, I decided to give her a cloak to cover herself with, before looking around to see if I could find one for her that wasn't torn or covered in blood.

That was when, through a shimmering in the air, two more of the golden lights slowly appeared, bringing with it a robe. Grasping it, I turned back to Ahri and presented it to her. She sniffed it for a moment, looking at me in confusion.

"It's a robe. Place it around your body to cover yourself. Humans wear clothing to keep warm in place of fur, and it is considered indecent to not wear them in public."

She bashfully took the clothes from me, wrapping them around herself nervously. "So...now what?" she asked me. "I've never been human before, so what should we do now?"

Finishing up my notes, I ended the scene with a precise period before closing the book's heavy leather casing. "You wish to know what to do?" I asked. How the heck was I supposed to know?

She nodded emphatically. "Please, forest spirit! Teach me to be a human!"

"Firstly, I am not 'Forest Spirit'. You may call me Bard. Secondly, I am not the one you should speak to about being human. Somehow, I doubt I'd be much help to you now anyway. I can point you in the right direction though."

"You can?" she clapped. "Please!"

Inside of my head, I could feel something spinning, almost like a compass pointing to North, but instead, I was clearly looking to the East. My eyes traced the surrounding landscape, when a small tuft of smoke could be seen on the horizon. "There," I stated, extending my hand to point my finger towards it. "That's where you should go."

"What is it?"

"A temple," I explained. "There you'll find a man named Yi, who will be more than happy to help you."

"Thank you so much!" she squealed, throwing her arms around my waist. Despite the change in my shape and appearance, it seemed as if she could interact with my actual form. "Seriously, Bard! I am in your debt." She then giggled to herself. "I don't know what that means, but I've heard humans say it and I've always wanted to. Oh, I hope my life as a human is fun. Being a fox was so boring, I want to see what there is in the world."

Beneath my mask I gave a wry grin. "Don't worry. I think you'll find your future to be full of some good fortune indeed. You should get going. It's almost nightfall and it's far more dangerous for you here as a human than it is as a fox."

She nodded in understanding, before turning and bounding off towards the temple. "And so it's begun," a voice echoed in my head. "Already, you are making choices similar to the ones I made. Perhaps nothing will change at all."

"You're speaking to me the way you spoke to Jhin?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Will Jhin know who I am?"

"I doubt it matters. Jhin has done his work. It's time for you to do yours. You know what comes next."

"Yes," I agreed. "The academy."

Before I could blink, I stood outside the looming walls of the Institute. The only startling part about this was that I wasn't surprised at all that it happened. I expected it, almost. I assumed I'd have jumped across time to get here. I don't know why I made the assumption, but yet, here I was as if this was only to be expected.

As the crowd of train goers surged in, I followed with them, moving straight past Alistar at the door to end up in the main hall. My mind began to flicker with images, as if memories of the place were building themselves. I rested my hand on the marble wall, and there I found recalling its lay out as if it were an old home I had not visited in years.

"This is when Kal first became a summoner," I commented to myself. What was it I needed to change here? That was when I heard the chimes. They were leading me down a corridor. These chimes, it seemed, were the location of the distortions.

Following the high-pitched ringing, I stopped outside a pair of enormous doors. This was where the sound was coming from. The instant I placed my hands on the door, the ringing came to a ceasing halt. I was in the right place.

Entering, I found myself amid the council in discussion. "Well, it would seem that our young summoner program wasn't a _complete_ failure," one of them grumbled.

"Truly? Was there really only one survivor of the process? Who?"

A woman shuffled through some papers in front of her until she found the sheet she was looking for. Straightening her glasses she read his name out loud, "Kal'Adamsul Midori-hi. Ionian. Excellent skills in tactics, less so in just about everything else. The instructor also wished for us to note that he is, 'an arrogant little shit'. It would seem he's got something of an ego."

Everyone present shared hesitant glances. "What do we do?" one asked.

"We can't just kick him out. If this got out to the Journals of Justice we'd be a laughing stock."

"No, come on! Sometimes programs fail, that's not our fault."

"We're the League of Legends," one reminded his co-worker. " _Everything_ that goes wrong is our fault."

As they all began to bicker and speak among themselves, I cleared my throat. "Perhaps a mentor…" I stated out loud. Of course, none could hear or see me, but the woman with glasses suddenly sat up straightly.

"Wait," she shouted, causing everyone to fall into a hush. "I have it."

"What?"

"You do?"

"Don't make us wait, woman! Let us hear your plan!"

"He has an ego, as his instructor noted. He's yet to receive his summoning orb, obviously as it is only received upon graduation. So, we add another program." Once again hushed whispers began to be passed around the room. "I propose to this council that Kal'Adamsul Midori-hi be made to perform a mentorship program, where we will pair him with a practice champion temporarily. This way, we can see if he has what it takes when he performs in practice exhibitions with the others. If he succeeds, our job is done and we pass him through. If not, well...we can have him in this program indefinitely."

"What happens if he tells the Journals about the program?"

"We tell them it is a new program and that we're still working out the kinks. It has not succeeded or failed until we say so. So long as Kal'adamsul stays here in the institute, we've nothing to fear."

There came a soft and slow clap from one of the older members of the room. "Excellent idea, Chancellor," he stated. "However, I do have...just one small nitpick, if you will."

"Go ahead," she nodded.

"Which Champion do we have that will agree to let them be bound, not only to an amateur summoner with a poor attitude, but one that their souls may not even be compatible with? Perhaps Ashe?"

Moving to the woman's side I leaned in. I knew I'd just been following the plots for the most part, but this was essential. If Kal never met Kat, they wouldn't have a falling out and so she wouldn't be there to help him fight in the end of A Boy and His Fox. "Who needs a volunteer…"

"Who needs a volunteer," she repeated, echoing my words as I spoke them out loud, "when we have Champions who are just as troublesome as this child may be? I suggest Katarina Du'Couteau. She has been confrontational enough that no one would question our reasons, and as a bonus, maybe she'll break this boy of his ego. Anything else?"

"No ma'am."

"Excellent. Equity, we must meet in the Judgment Hall so as to prepare for our newest champion."

"What was her name again?"

She shuffled through the papers once again. "Orianna Reveck. She's a pretty little thing. Young too. Her late mother was a dancer, it seems and she wishes to use the skills she was taught to make a difference. Noble, and reports say she is exceedingly polite."

"Where is she now? Do we have time for lunch?"

"She is training with Eranth now in Summoner's Rift. They are running one last string of turret trials. She should be done in an hour or two, so we'll have to make it quick."

As they stood and walked straight through me to leave, my blood ran cold. Orianna! Her accident was today?! I swept through the halls as swiftly as I could, the chimes guiding my way until I went through a teleporter to the rift.

Sure enough, there I was watching the two speak. As they talked, I could see Corin watching from the trees, ready to see his plan be put in action. Why was I here? She had to die. She needed to! Otherwise, how would Kiba meet her in Grinding of the Gears?

My entire body shook as I wrestled with my conscience about what to do. I could save her. It wouldn't be difficult. I could run and shut down the tower, I could control Corin and make him reveal himself and interrupt the trial. Even as I ran through the many possible actions I could take, the turret began to charge up.

I wanted to help her, truly I did, but instead I kept my feet planted where they were. She was struck once, the force sending her off her knees as Eranth ran for the control panel. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I had to watch the gruesome scene.

It charged up again for a second shot, this time the blast piercing through her chest like an arrow and causing her eyes to go wide. She fell to the ground, just as Eranth smashed the panel and deactivated the turret. Blood began to pool from her chest, but on her face with a bright smile. Her smile was haunting to an extreme I'd wished I had not seen.

That was when it happened. The world turned dark, and a creeping mist rose from the ground to envelop us before I heard the words I knew so well. "It is time to make your choice. The arrow or the chase."

"I'm...dead?" Orianna responded, her voice quivering in confusion. "I...I can't be dead. I have to become a champion. I have to make my mom proud. I have to meet Kiba!"

"The arrow or the chase?" Lamb repeated, their dim figures starting to manifest in the fog. "If you do not choose, we will have to choose for you."

"I'm not dead," she insisted.

"Very well," Lamb said calmly, pulling back the string on her bow. "I believe it is my turn, dear Wolf."

"Indeed it is, Sweet Lamb," he snarled menacingly.

Wait...Orianna doesn't die! I was wrong, she can't die! Kiba finds her live body at the end, and if she's dead then...there is no Orianna to put into the mechanical shell. I had to save her from Lamb.

The dancer shut her eyes tightly, cringing away but unable to move as Lamb took aim. "Do not fear. None have ever told me that they have felt pain from my arrows.," she stated, causing Orianna to cringe even more.

Just as a twang rang out from Lamb's bow, my hand moved almost at the same time. My instincts were faster, sharper. One of the meeps soared from my side, rushing outward to strike her arrow, sending it careening into the fog.

"What the hell?" Wolf growled. "Someone else is here with us?! That's impossible!"

It was then I rushed to the girl's side, standing between her and Kindred protectively. "Calm yourself, Wolf," Lamb whispered, stroking his dark fur before staring at me. "Creature, why do you interfere? If you are Kindred, you must not stop us. If you are something else, you must understand that she is to pass on."

I shook my head slowly. "I know you can't hear me, but it's not her time," I explained. "Her story isn't finished yet, and I can't let her leave without her having her story."

"Do you know this _thing_ , sweet Lamb?" her brother asked. "From whence did it come?"

"I saw him during your chase not even a little while ago," she stated. "He presented me with a gift, though it would seem he is unable to speak."

"Then I shall make his scream instead!" Wolf roared, causing Orianna to cling to me in fright. I did not flinch from where I stood. Just as the darker half of Kindred lunged at me, he once more was stopped by the protective field around me. "What is this?!"

"Perhaps he is Kindred. Dearest Wolf, you are unable to hurt him, and I doubt that I would fare better with my arrows. One soul is not so troublesome...for now. Very well, creature. I grant her respite. Accept this as a token of gratitude for your gift. I have greatly enjoyed it thus far. I will have to look more into this 'poetry' that is inside."

Like that, they vanished with a pop. Turning back to face Orianna, she seemed terriified of me, but it was then that behind her I could see now her father typing away at a keyboard, inputting the necessary commands to capture her soul. "Wh-what's happening to me?" she asked, her voice echoing and beginning to double.

This was the worst part, I felt. Having to see what that monster was doing to her sweet innocent soul. It was traumatizing to think of all the trouble it has caused her, but as her image reappeared floating in the tank, eyes closed, I watch him pluck the two cogwheels free and place them in the mechanical bodies. Covering one with a tarp, he chose the other specifically, slipping in the Infinity Gear to keep her soul bound. All was right, but still I felt so wrong for letting this happen.

"You seem to misunderstand," Josh said. "You're allowed to change things if you wish. You could have saved her and she'd have met Kiba anyway. You realize that, don't you?"

"Shut up," I grumbled turning to go back to the Institute. I didn't _want_ to change anything. All of the stories, all of the happy endings, they all were the things that made them what they are. How could I possibly change that when I can't see the future? Wait...Manifesto! I've already written it all before, so if I could get my hands on the copy, I could use it to find which things to change and which things not to.

"You've thought of something."

"Didn't I just say to shut up? I'm tired of playing your game. If you want to shut yourself off from the rest of the world, be my guest, but I'm not going to let you pull the plug on this one just because you're a coward."

A sharp pain lanced through my head, causing me to cry in pain before falling to my knees. I breathed heavily as his voice once more came through. "Do not treat this as if it were simply a game," he stated flatly. "You will play your role, and you will do so correctly. You have freedom of choice, not freedom of will."

"You're a bastard," I growled.

"Yes. I am."

When I'd collected myself once more, I began to ponder my next destination. We'd started A Boy and His Fox at the very beginning. Nothing else had started yet and Kal would be in the academy for another seven years. Ahri, in turn, would be bonded with Magnus shortly after...I stopped. That's it! I could save her from Magnus! If I were to prevent Magnus from bonding with her, she'd be happy and then she'd eventually meet Kal, and all would be better.

Opening one of the time portals, I dove through into ionia, looking around for where my mind told me the hole in the ground would be. Sure enough, there it was, sitting at the top of a hill inconspicuously.

Taking an anxious breath, I jumped through the hole, sliding rapidly downward before hurtling onto my legs. Ahri was right, that was fun. I wondered what made her decide to put a slide into the hole, but on the other hand I was glad that she did.

Walking to the door, I quickly slipped inside to spot them together on the couch. Ahri's legs were spread and raised in the air as Magnus was thrusting into her. Was I too late? Beside Ahri's limp hands was a glass of wine that had dropped to the ground, splashing on the tile. Oh Gods, he drugged her!

I felt righteous fury building up in my stomach as I grasped him and after punching him square in the face, threw him roughly off of her. Magnus looked horrified as Ahri opened her eyes and suddenly straightened. "Magnus!" she cried rolling off the couch, before stopping. Her gaze fell onto me and she froze. One her face was a look humiliation, shame, and confusion. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Magnus shouted, wiping the blood from his lip where I'd punched him. "Did you seriously use your powers on me? After we've just had this talk, no less!"

"It wasn't me," she quickly swore. "It was Bard."

"Who?"

"Bard!" she repeated, gesturing towards me, but Magnus just stared at her as if she was insane.

"That's it," he growled. "I'm done. Finished. I'm sick of your weakness, I'm sick of your patheticness, and most importantly, I'm sick of you."

"Magnus, wait!" she cried, running to him and grasping his arm. "Please," she begged. "I love you. Please, don't leave. I promise it wasn't me. I wouldn't hurt you."

"Don't use my name, whore," he snapped tugging his hand away before slapping her hard across the face. Again, I was ready to beat him. It'd be no less than what he deserved. My eyes went to the wine bottle on the table. I could easily shatter it over his head and slice his damned throat.

The only thing that stopped me was knowing that if I had I would have ended up like Jhin. "Master, please," she sobbed, falling to her knees. Tears began to stream down her face stirring the guilt in my heart. How could anyone watch such a beautiful creature weep like this and not pity her?

"I'll be at the Institute. I'm requesting a new champion, immediately. Hopefully, they'll have someone who's good for more than just humping." With that, he slammed the door shut behind him, leaving us both behind.

As she sobbed, I looked at her for a moment before going and grabbing the cloak I'd given her. Coming back, I draped it over her shoulders, and she eagerly took it clutching it to her. "How could you?" she sniffed. "How could you do this to me, Bard? I was happy! Why did you hit him?"

What could I possibly say to her? That he was a violent psychopath hellbent on domination? That some day soon, she'd meet a man who was ten times better than Magnus could ever be, who would love her unconditionally? Instead, I could only think of one thing to say: "This is for the best."

"The best? The best?! The best for who?!" she demanded. "You? Are you jealous?! Is that what this is about? 'Oh, I've been gone for six years, but damn that fox was sexy. I should go wreck her perfectly good relationship and see if she'd fuck me.' Well screw you, Bard! I'd never be able to love a stupid...man...tree, thing… like you!"

Her words made my throat struggle for air. Did she really think so little of me that she assumed that's what I was like? "It hurts, doesn't it?" Josh uttered in my head. "You try to save someone, to protect them from what you know will hurt them, and what do they do? They spit it in your face. You think Ahri's the only one? Everyone in the world is like that. It's easy to dismiss your savior, but what happens when he is dismissed one too many times? Why is it that we wait until after a person is dead until we appreciate what they've done for us?"

"Shut up," I hissed through closed teeth, causing Ahri's ears to twitch in shock. "SHUT UP!" I roared, anger welling up in me at both of them. "You listen to me, fox. You don't get it yet, but I just _saved_ you. Understand? You think he would have stopped at slapping you around and emotional abuse? Some day, you'd come home. You'd do your best to make him happy, but your best wouldn't be enough, and on that day he'd snap and he would have _killed_ you."

"You're wrong," she muttered.

"I'm not done," I growled. "You think you can just accuse me of being scum like him? Absolutely not. I won't let you go on thinking that. You're heartbroken, and I understand that. But look inside of yourself. Did it just break, or has it actually been broken this entire time?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"The world is a story," I stated. "You don't get it because you can't see it, but you're just one word on one page in one chapter, and the entire world is all connected and at its center, do you know what's there? Nothing but a coward looming over a bunch of dolls with a magnifying glass, trying to decide how best to destroy the entire world that he has authority over. I am giving you the key to your life back. But by all means, Ahri, run after him! Chase him down before he gets to the League and beg for him to take you back. Beg for him to once again pretend to love you so he can use you. Beg for him to do what any rational man would beg you to do which is to love you. Someday, you're going to meet a man, understand me? This man is going to take your life and despite every attempt otherwise on your behalf, you're going to find yourself falling for him. You'll be scared, terrified even that you will find yourself once more in a pit begging some monster to pull you out, but the truth is he will love you so greatly and so deeply that he would give his entire life for you five times over if it meant only making you happy."

She looked up at me in shock, unable to believe the words I was saying. I would have stopped, but there was a deep fire in my stomach and I wanted to keep going. She needed to hear these words, I'd make her hear them.

"You have a choice to make, Ahri. You have a decision, right here and right now about who you want to be and what you want from the world. You can get up and chase after Magnus, and strive forever to make a horrible man love you, or you can shut up, pull yourself together, and realize that you're much more valuable than that. You shouldn't have to beg to make someone love you. Because if they really loved you, you wouldn't have to ask."

She was crying even harder now, but said nothing. Her tails drooped around her as she knelt there, sobbing uncontrollably. She clutched the cloak tighter around her body, her entire being seizing with anguish and sorrow. As I turned to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed my shirt. "W-wait," she murmured. "H-how will I know?"

"Know what?"

"How will I know when I've found the man you're talking about? How will I know when he truly loves me?"

"You'll bump into him on the street. At first, he'll seem like everyone else, just another one among a million. You'll try to charm him at first, thinking that you could knock his ego down a peg. It won't work though. Because it won't work, you'll become scared. You can't make him love you, so what do you do? You make sure he can't hurt you by shoving him away over and over and over again, yet for reasons you can't fathom, he just keeps coming back time and again, eager to give all he can for you. Soon, you'll start to realize that when you're around him, you start to hate him less and less. He's not fake, he's what you should have been looking for all along. But again, that scares you, so you try to push him away once more, and once more he comes back. You'll find then that he's able to control you. He pulls your strings and pushes your buttons as if he was naturally able to wear you like a suit, but that's not what gets you. What gets you is that you come to realize that you enjoy it. You enjoy the way he makes you feel, the way he makes you dance and sing in pure joy, and it becomes like a drug. You become addicted to being his slave, and just when you're about to try to kick that addiction you realize that he's addicted to you, too. You change him and he changes you. Together, you become something more perfect than you could have ever been by yourself, to the point where you realize that being human isn't what will make you happy. He is what will make you happy. Together, you'll have three beautiful children, a boy and two girls. Every time you see him, it'll be as if it were the first time you'd fallen in love with him and he will serve you as your lover and husband faithfully as if his entire existence depended on it, because it does. You become his life and his existence, and he cherishes you greater than any man has ever cherished any treasure in the world. So hate me now, if you absolutely must. Some day, you'll meet that man, and you'll think all of it is just a coincidence, but then when you're old and gray, and the two of you are ready to take the next step of not just living together but dieing together, I'll be there, and on that day, you'll thank me."

With that, I turned around and left her on the floor, shutting the door behind me. I'd given her far too much information. I was angry and frustrated though. I had to speak my mind, to tell her the gift she had truly been given with Magnus' departure. "Well spoken," Josh commented in my head.

"Don't start. You think that was just for her benefit? You're just as stupid and foolish as she is. But that doesn't matter, I'll show you the truth too. You probably won't believe it or just write it off as your imaginary reaction. Some day though, you'll appreciate this world and what it's given you, not just for the attention, but the purpose behind it. So I'll say once more: shut up and let me do my job."

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 16

Manifesto Ch. 16

I lay there, staring at my computer screen intently for a long while. Bard had helped Ahri and Kal and Orianna...now what? This wasn't working. This hadn't accomplished anything. All I'd done so far was convince myself that by putting myself in a fictional world that I would actually be a better person. I'd be braver, more confident, able to talk to girls, not have crippling social anxiety. But it wasn't working. "Please," I begged him silently. "Please, do something. I need your help. I need help. I need help."

I could even picture his response. "I am helping. You made me to help you, so that's what I have to do. I don't have a choice in the matter. If I decide not to, you'll just make me do it anyway."

My brow furrowed as I rubbed my temples. This wasn't what I wanted to happen. I didn't want my fanfiction career to be over. I didn't want to have myself viewed as some tyrannical overlord by...well, myself. Yet, here I am. Things had gotten worse as of late. It was hard to put myself into my writing when every other aspect of my life was crumbling beneath me.

My job as a teacher had come to a close, leaving me as a lowly tutor for the same school. Due to 'budget cuts', a lie I am certain, my hours were even reduced. Now I was only working four hours a day, if I was lucky. What's more, I thought my prayers had been answered when I'd found another job working for a different tutoring company. Until my school refused to change my hours, so they had to pass on hiring me.

After that, anger and sadness continued to engulf my life. It's still there. Every single bit of it, and what's worse is that the more it grows, the colder I become. I don't want that for me. I don't want that for anyone. I may be naive in how I view people and the world. I believe everyone has some good in them and that everyone has a value. I want to believe that people can be intelligent and compassionate, but with everything happening around me, my own compassion is dissolving before my eyes.

I'd rather die than ever lose my compassion.

It wouldn't be difficult. I've got an entire bottle of antidepressants by my bed. There are dozens of knives around the house. Hell, I even have a gun. But I _can't_ let myself fall that far. I don't want to lose myself to this cold world. When I was hired by one of my student's mothers to fix her webpage and set up her social media accounts, again I thought it was a godsend. Until she went back on our agreement and told me she wasn't able to pay me in cash. She was, however, willing to pay me in her son's artwork.

I talked to my boss, my coworker talked to my boss, begging for her to hire me back full time. My coworker said she needed my help as an assistant teacher, and she fought for me, and for that I am extremely grateful. But my boss, the woman whom I've viewed as a second mother for the last five years of my life...she simply laughed and said she wouldn't do it. If she needed help, she'd have to ask me to do it for free.

I'm glad she didn't. If she had, I know I'd probably have said yes. It's the compassion again, but even still I am thankful for it, regardless of how hard it's making my life. My National Novel Writing Month novel was put on hold when I had to move back in with my parents. I just don't have the money to live in an apartment on my own anymore. My fanfiction has suffered too. I know my readers miss me, and I know they'd help me if I could, but I've already asked them for help too many times. No, I was truly on my own now.

With nothing else to think of, no other options to pursue, no other methods for escape, I began again. It was time to return to Manifesto, reenter the world through Bard's eyes and settle this damned issue once and for all. I still didn't know what side the coin would land on. My only fear is by the time I finish this story, would I be the one to turn my back on the fanfiction, or would I in my depression fallen so low, that in the end I didn't have to delete my account. All of my fans would leave me, and it'd be the end anyway.

I wasn't normally one to subscribe to the multiverse theory. Science dictates that the path of an electron cannot be determined, meaning that if there were an indeed infinite number of universes, then in that infinite there was also an infinite amount of universes where nothing was different save the path of one electron. Even still, I hoped that the universe that I'd created would save me now.

* * *

As I left Ahri's house, I scratched the back of my head in thought. Now what? Something began to rumble from deep inside of me, and I found myself being transported once again through time and space, but this time I ended in a land that sent chills down my spine. I had clearly inherited Josh's fear of the dark, because as I stood on the cursed isles with little life the lack of sun gripped my heart tightly.

It was as if a large weight had been applied to my chest, and immediately I wished that I was out of here, but I would not be so lucky. Instead, I watched as a dark skinned young woman raced past me, a look of grim determination on her face. In her hand was a pistol that I recognized as a lightslinger. No...please, no. "Don't make me do this," I begged. "Anything but this, you can't possibly expect me to watch this happen!"

Josh had no response. Sure enough, Lucian rounded the corner, gasping for air. "Senna, wait up!" he pleaded. "This woman is going to be the death of me." He took a deep breath, and continued forward, but not before I quickly rushed on ahead. This was when Senna would lose her soul...but she wouldn't lose her life. Things would change, I'd make them change.

Following the sound of the excited woman's footsteps, I smashed into a clearing to find her, gun drawn, staring down Thresh with a smug grin on her face. "Ha! Found you!" she cried. "Come on, Lucian! Let's hit him with it!" There was a pause as no reply came. "Lucian?" she called, turning to see her husband was not beside her.

Suddenly, a look of horror gripped her as Thresh let out a ghastly cackle, his chain swinging to and fro as he approached. "What have we here?" he asked. "A mortal? What foolishness for a woman to travel these woods alone. That's okay, I've got a place for you that's nice and warm."

"I'm not alone," she argued. "My husband is here, and we will destroy you, foul vermin!" Lifting her pistol she began shooting away at him, but he easily deflected it with his scythe. Slamming down his lantern, green energy lanced towards her.

She tried to roll out of the way, but it curve to intercept her. As it pierced through her chest, I watched as an ethereal green duplicate of her was shoved out of her body, gripping the energy as if it were a spear that had impaled her.

It was her soul! On its face was a look of horrible anguish, so much so that I could feel the tears streaming down my face beneath my mask. I trembled there, wishing desperately to do something but unable to move. Finally, with one last burst of will, I shouted at the top of my lungs. "STOP!" Energy burst forth from me, like a golden geyser of power before it landed over the isles. As it cascaded down, time froze once more, keeping everything locked in place. Even Senna's soul was frozen and try as I might, I couldn't get it free. "Please!" I begged. "Please, you have to let me save her, Josh! You know what happens! You know the tortures she suffers! I'll find a way for Lucian to still be in A Boy and His Fox, but don't do this to her!"

Suddenly there was a distorted ripple before me, just as Lamb and Wolf casually strolled out of the portal to look around themselves curiously. Immediately, Wolf noticed me and getting to all fours, he let out a low growl.

Lamb, too went on edge, but seeing it was me, she relaxed. "Oh, hello again," she greeted, slowly lowering her arrow. "We were called here by a strange disturbance." Looking around herself, she noted the golden hue that everything was coated in before tilting her head slightly to the side. "Was this your doing?"

Kindred! They could help me! They could save Senna! I charged towards Lamb, and though Wolf leaped between us, I easily transported myself to the other side of her. She wheeled on me, going to draw her bow, but I quickly grasped her wrist, pulling her towards the scene that was unfolding.

"What? What are you doing?!" she demanded as I dragged her to the spirit's side. When she stood there, I finally released her before pantomiming that she shoot her arrow at the woman. If Lamb reaped her soul, Thresh wouldn't be able to torture her. Lucian would still lose his wife, true, but at least he wouldn't find her trapped in the clutches of the sinister warden. "I can't," she stated, causing me to sink. "She must make the choice, so I must ask her the question." I frowned, moving to take the bow away from her, but she quickly clutched it to her chest. "Hey! No! You can't have this! It's mine, understand? It's important to me, and you can't just take things that don't belong to you."

Wolf stood, to the side, watching the debacle with slightly amused interest. Again, I urged Lamb to shoot Senna's soul. She had to reap her. I couldn't fail this and I didn't know how long my time freeze would last. I clasped my hands together, begging her to help me.

"No," she emphasized, shouldering her bow. "I'm not going to shoot her. Sorry. You're part of the Kindred aren't you? You reap her."

I shook my head, trying to explain that I couldn't, but then I paused. If Lamb wouldn't do it…My eyes went to the beast that lazily rolled on the ground off in the distance. I gazed between him and Lamb as she watched me, cautious in case I tried to take her weapon again. I couldn't convince her, but I knew that I could incite Wolf's rage into making him come after me. If I did it right then he'd reap Senna by accident.

Moving away from her, she frowned as she watched me stand between Senna and her brother. Picking up a rock, I quickly threw it, hitting Wolf square in the nose. He let out a yelp of surprise as Lamb stood there in complete shock. "What are you…" she began, but not before her brother let out a howl. "No! Wolf, don't…"

It was too late though, he was charging after me. Her words were gone from his mind as he bared his fangs. "You damned balloon! I'll rip you to pieces!" he roared, but I just vanished through the ether. As the gold vanished away, Wolf barreled into Senna's soul, sending his claws through its chest and pinning it to the ground before Thresh's lantern could do anything. Instead, the souls began to pour out of it, causing him to let out a cry of surprise.

He began trying to capture them back again, but realizing what they were, Lamb fired her arrows, releasing several spirits into peaceful rest. Unfortunately, Thresh managed to get back a few of them as Senna's spirit looked into Wolf's vicious jaws.

"Damn it," he growled, turning to look at me, but when she reached up and softly stroked his black fur, he paused. "What are you doing, human?" he asked, his voice lowering to a less gruff tone. I was surprised by his behavior. Seeming to notice, Lamb slid beside me.

"It may not seem like it," she whispered, "but dearest Wolf does actually care about the mortals. He chases them in fun, but he does so, knowing that they too, in a sense, enjoy it." I looked at her quizzically. "Do you know why people choose the chase? Think about it. They know that none can escape the wolf, yet still they choose to run. Why do you think that is?" When I didn't speak, or try to pantomime anything, she continued. "It's because they want one last taste of life. They want to feel the excitement and fear that comes from living, one last time, before they pass. My arrow is for those who are ready to move on, the chase is for those who need to live just a little longer."

As my eyes fell on the two of them, I was shocked by how greatly I'd misjudged Wolf. I'd assumed he was a bloodthirsty monster. Was I truly so wrong? To my surprise, I watched as the shaggy black beast lowered his head, nuzzling against Senna's face as she embraced him tightly. As she faded away into the afterlife, I could see him tremble and when he turned to face me again, I could see in his eyes a strange sorrow.

"What did she say, brother?"

"She said, she was glad that it was I who reaped her, sweet Lamb. For the first time in so many years, I have finally received thanks as you do." He sniffed for a moment, before shaking his massive head. "Do not have concern for me, sister. My expression is not one of pain, but joy. I am sad that I could not give her the chase she desired, but I am glad that I reaped her, none the less."

Suddenly, Lucian burst through the brush to spot Thresh reclaiming his lantern and spotting his wife's body crumpled on the ground. "No!" he cried out, running to her side. Throwing aside his gun, he lifted her in his arms, clutching her tightly to his chest. "Please, Lord, no! Don't take her from me. Don't take my Senna!" Tears streamed down his cheeks as he turned towards Thresh. "Take me!" he demanded of the foul undead. "Take me, too! You captured her soul in that prison you monster, then take mine too! Take my soul like you took my Senna's!"

Thresh scratched the back of his skull with his scythe in confusion but eventually he held up his lantern, letting the door open. As the energy began to rush towards Lucian, I moved to him quickly, resting a hand on his shoulder. Hurling him through a portal, I sent him back to Demacia before throwing his gun after him.

He cried in shock, reaching for the lantern's hook, but I simply shoved him one more time, sending him back into safety. As the magical portal closed, Thresh let out a frustrated groan before scooping up his lantern. Going to Senna's body, he picked up her lightslinger and began grumbling as he walked away from the clearing.

I let out a sigh. I'd done it. I'd saved Senna's soul and put Lucian on the correct path he needed to be on. He'd meet Kal and everything would return to as it should have. I'd fixed it. A sense of euphoria flooded me as Lamb walked to my side, nudging me with one of her fluffy digits.

"Excuse me," she said calmly. "Did you know all of this would happen? Is that why you made Wolf reap the woman?" I nodded. She hesitated for a moment before uttering, "Thank you. I am still unskilled with emotions, though brother is trying to teach me. I've never seen him so...what is it...happy? It feels...nice. I am happy he is happy, I think."

I smiled to myself, unable to stop staring at the adorable spirit. I gently pulled her into a hug, holding her there as her hands pressed against my chest slightly. "You're welcome," I whispered, even though I knew she could not hear. Still, I didn't care.I Couldn't wait until this was over and she could hear me once again.

When at last, we parted, I could sense her sheepishly grinning behind her mask. "Oh!" she exclaimed, reaching to her pack to pull out the book. "I finished this," she explained. "I thought you may wish to have it back. Wolf explained that just because someone hands me something does not mean that it is mine to keep, so I thought I should return it to you. I've been waiting a while to do so."

I looked down at the book of poetry in her hands, and without a word, I reached out, closing her fingers around it and pushing it back towards her chest. Seeming to understand, she clutched it there, before again bow. ing her head.

"Thank you...again. This means I am allowed to keep it, yes?" I nodded again. Turning away from me, she flounced to her brother's side. "Brother. The spirit says I may keep the book. Do you think we can possibly get more soon? I will cherish all books the way I cherish this one, I swear it." With the level of excitement in her tone, she almost was like a kid begging its parents for a puppy. I felt another stirring in my heart that wished my mission was over so that I could be with her again.

And like that, I blinked, and found myself back in the inky blackness. "You feel it now. Don't you?" Josh asked, his knees pulled up to his chest. He wasn't even looking at me. He wasn't looking at anything, just...sitting there. A tightness squeezed on my chest that I recognized far too quickly as pity.

"Are you...okay?" I asked cautiously.

"Are you?" he shot back.

"What is it that I'm supposed to be feeling?"

"The ache. The hunger."

"Hunger for what?"

He moved his head to regard me. "I think you know."

"Lamb?" I scoffed. "No, no…I mean, yeah I'm into her, but not like...I mean…"

"It's not just Lamb. It's everything," he retorted. "It doesn't stop. It _never_ stops."

"What are you talking about?"

Josh chuckled for a moment. "When I was a teenager, I called it being 'moon struck'. It only seemed to happen at night, but then it started happening all the time. I still don't know if it's even a real thing or not, or if there's a name for it, but it's there."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"It's a collection of sorts," he mused vaguely. "It just keeps growing, even though I really wish it wouldn't. It doesn't have limits or boundaries, and God damn it, is it the biggest pain in the ass."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

He sighed deeply. "So still, no one can understand. Typical. I make a character that's supposed to be exactly like me, and look at that, he's not."

"No one can be exactly like you," I tried, hoping it would assuage him.

"Is that supposed to be a comfort?"

"In a way." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "So, what is this collection of yours? What are you collecting?"

"Fetishes," he stated bluntly. "And no, not the religious kind. At first, it started easy...met a girl through some erotic roleplaying who was into lactation, I started being into it too. Then incest from my sister, then…" he paused. "Let's just say it keeps growing and it doesn't stop."

My brow furrowed. "What's the limit?" I asked.

"As far as I know, it doesn't have one. Though, it does tend to stay away towards anything malicious or hurtful. At least, physically hurtful."

"So not a BDSM fan?"

He let out a half chuckle. "Oh, that's definitely incorrect. Let's put it this way. There is more than one reason I enjoy writing Lusty Ionian Butler. Extremes don't bother me. BDSM doesn't bother me. Making someone else suffer, that's what bothers me. I've said before, I get off more on the pleasure of others, even if they're pleasures they're not quite awakened to at first."

"You sound like a psycho," I argued.

His smile faded quickly. "Yeah, well...maybe I am. I don't know how I've become so fucked up, but I am. I hunger for things, awful things. Things that if I were to tell Remy, she'd reject me faster than God rejected Satan from Heaven."

"How do you know that?"

"Certain things she says. Thing she does. Every now and then, we'll be watching something and someone will make some joke and she'll just grimace at it. She'll be grossed out by something that sends tremors through my being."

"So? Talk to her. Tell her."

"It's not that simple," he sighed. "How can I tell her if she'll hate me for it?"

"She wouldn't hate you for it."

"How do you know?"

I paused for a moment, sifting through some of the memories I had of their relationship. "Do you remember when you called her fat? It was a joke, of course, but she couldn't tell."

"Yes...she cried for almost an hour."

"Right, and…? Did she hate you after that?"

"No," he admitted.

"What about the time she caught you 'cheating' on her?"

"I was just roleplaying online! It didn't mean anything! I still don't even know that girl's real name!"

"Well, I know that and you know that, but still, do you remember? You promised her you wouldn't do erotic roleplay anymore and you strove to keep that promise. Did she hate you then?"

"No," he grumbled, averting his eyes.

"Believe me," I replied, moving to sit beside him without a thought. "She wouldn't hate you. I don't think she has the capacity to hate you. You've been together for six _years_. Your relationship has been longer than most people's marriages last. So you're into some weird kinky shit and she's not. Do you expect her to let you pee on her?"

"No."

"Do you expect her to fuck a horse or something?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem? If you don't expect her to do anything against her will, then there is no shame in telling her what you feel. She'd accept you, because she loves you. I know why you're scared."

He looked at me, his eyes starting to well up. "I'm not scared," he lied.

"It's okay to be scared. I know people have been telling us that all our lives, and that we, like usual, write it off as bullshit adults say but don't mean, but in this case it's true. Your mother cheated on your father. When they divorced, she lied to you until you were fourteen years old about why she did, and you're scared to death that somehow you'll end up like her, but you're _not_ like her. If anything, your concern proves that!"

"It wasn't fair," he whispered, his eyes starting to tear up. "I said so many awful things to my dad. Things that I can't ever take back if I wanted to. I accused him of never loving me, I told him I hated him and that I never loved him. How can I possibly take those things back?!"

"You were a kid. You think there is a single person alive who hasn't said something they regret to their parents? They'll deny it, but we've all become angry before and we've all said things we don't mean. The only difference between others and us is...others aren't able to remember things like we do. I promise you, there are very few people alive who can recall back to when they were two years old with vivid clarity, even into their own thoughts."

"God, I hate that I wrote you to be so good at this," he groaned, burying his face in his knees. "Mom really messed me up, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She really did," I admitted. I could picture it very clearly now. So many times she could have been supportive and nurturing, but instead she used judeo indoctrination to scare him into behaving how she wanted. So many times she lied and deceived him, even as recent as a few years ago. The way she distanced him from his entire family...it was painful to even think about. "If it helps, I'm sorry about your family. I know it's hard isolating yourself from them."

"Easy to say for a character that doesn't have one," he countered before pausing. "Sorry," he added, "that was cruel of me."

"It's fine. Just...I'm a little fuzzy on details. Maybe if you explain…"

He sighed again. "I was nineteen years old. My entire life, I've been pretty obedient. I never got into drugs or alcohol as a teenager. I was a 'good' Christian, as much as I despise that term now. Sure I had some academic struggles, thanks to my ADHD and Asperger's, but I never got into any sort of trouble really. Well, it was the first day of my summer semester at college. Like now, my mother was breathing down my neck about grades. After class, I went to hang out with some friends, only for her to call me a few hours in, demanding I went home. 'You're not allowed to have friends after your grades last semester! You go to school and come home, that's it!'" He mimicked her well, but despite the comedic gesture, neither of us were smiling. "I finally decided to stand up for myself to her. She told me we'd have a long discussion when we got back, but I told her that it wouldn't be a discussion because she wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. I'd get home, she'd yell at me, I'd pretend to listen to her, but ultimately go to bed angry and upset. Those are the exact words I used, too. I didn't curse her out, I didn't shout at her, that's it. The next morning, she took me to breakfast, handed me two hundred bucks and the keys to my car and told me that I wasn't allowed to come back home. She kicked me out of the house, because, as she said, 'no one talks to her the way I did.'"

"So...then what happened?"

"I didn't have a place to go. I was lucky because Remy's mother agreed to take me in, which I'll never cease to be grateful for. I knew I was a strain on her life, but Remy and her mother took wonderful care of me. I contacted my other family, asking all of them for help, but they kept turning me away. I didn't know why, either. My grandparents, my aunts, my uncles...none of them would help me until my Dad finally explained why on my facebook. My mother had called every member of my family and told them not to help me. She even told my Dad that I'd walked out of her house, and that I shouldn't be helped because I thought I was adult enough to handle it all myself. She lied to every single member of my family, and worse, they all believed her. My father, whom she lied to and cheated on, believed my mother over me. It hurt terribly. So, from then on, I didn't have a family anymore. My friends became my family."

I gently rubbed his back to calm him. He was crying now, and I knew the wounds hurt him, but he needed to bleed so he could heal. "But you're okay with them now, right?"

"Okay is a relative term," he murmured. "When my mother realized she would lose me for good, she quickly backpedaled and called me up, denying that she had anything to do with my family turning me away. She offered me a home, food, money, etc. At this time, Remy's mother was struggling financially, so for her sake more than anything else, I returned to my mother's house. Even still, you don't ever really trust the dog that bites anymore. My other family has reached out for me too, but it doesn't matter. My love for them left the day they refused to see me as one of their own. So, now, I'm more or less alone. Are you happy now?"

I tried to hide a half-hearted chuckle. "Happy isn't the word I'd used. Satisfied, maybe. I'm learning a lot about you, about...well me, I guess. So you're scared that if you break your mother's insane tenets, you'll end up without friends too. You keep your sexual urges and fantasies secret from the people close to you in real life, because you're worried that they'll hate you like you fear your mother does."

"I suppose that's accurate to say."

"Well...I'm sorry to say I don't have any quick answers for that problem. All I can do is promise you I'll keep going through the stories changing things one by one. If it helps though, I don't think either of us would be where we are if you'd bent to your mother's whim. I think that by standing up to her, you put us on a new path. It's like Kal when he had to choose between the flames and the light, remember? He chose the middle path. It's not the easiest path, but it is the path that's right for him. This path is right for us."

"God, I hate that you're insightful like this," he replied, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "All right, go on then. Get back to work, puppet. Your god commands you." He cast out his hand as if banishing me, but he flashed me a smile.

Then in a blink, I found myself transported once more, back into his world. Yes, he wasn't a God or a being of infinite power. He was just another scared soul, trying to find his place in the world. He was another story, and it was up to me to write him an end for it.

To be continued...


	18. V-day update

Manifesto Update: Valentine's Day Special

Hey everyone, I know it's been awhile since I've updated this story. Most of you are probably going to close out of this pretty quick when you realize it's not another chapter, but another out of story update. As you already know, it's Valentine's day soon. Shocker for a romance author, it's my favorite holiday. For those of you who do not know, I've left my job at Focus Academy. Put simply, I wasn't getting paid enough money to survive. I had to move back in with my parents recently because of it and things have been pretty difficult lately. Even still, I've been pretty happy, and I know that a big part of that is all of you guys, the readers, who've supported me over the years.

Firstly, I'd like to say thank you for everything. I thank you a lot, and I'm sure it's lost most of it's meaning by this point, but truly from the bottom of my heart I am grateful. People often call Valentine's Day by it's lesser known name "Singles' Awareness Day", but I'm personally of the opinion that Valentine's Day is less about being in a relationship with a significant other and more about showing the amount of care you have for the ones you love, romantic or not.

That being said, I wanted to take this time to kind of go over the last five years or so that I've been doing this with you guys. Kind of a "scrapbook" of sorts where I ramble on a bit about how much I appreciate you all and give you a bit more of an insight into who I am personally. Tell you a little bit about my life, and explain what's to come in the future. A bit of an update on everything to be honest.

Let's start with present times for the moment. I'm on the hunt for a new job. I'm not too picky. Trying to hopefully find something in publishing or education. I am pleased to announce that I have applied as a writer to a popular youtube channel called Planet Dolan, but so far haven't heard any correspondence back for the application or the follow up (though he's getting married, so I imagine he's rather busy atm). I've been working primarily on my original work, but as those of you who follow me may have noticed, I've taken a small break to write more of my dirty Pokemon story. I'm always looking for beta readers for original work, and I also have a few exclusives that I haven't published to FF for people who add me on Skype at Kiba Vulpus Elunal.

Okay, so now that that's out of the way, let's now jump back to the beginning. I first started writing fan fiction a reeeeeally long time ago. I mean, like before a lot of you were born, a long time ago. I think the first story I wrote was when I was eleven, which would have been fifteen years ago. True to stereotypical nature, it was (believe it or not) a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction. It was Knuckles x Rouge, and I published it on a little site known as Quizilla. If you tried to find it now, you'd wind up at a site for Teen Nick (as they bought it out years ago) and sadly none of my reeeally old work is there. Otherwise, I'd gladly share it with you all for a laugh. It was horrible. Really. Like, really bad.

Skip ahead about half a decade, I first started writing good old A Boy and His Fox. To this day, it is still my most popular fanfiction, and as far as I know, the most favorited Ahri fanfiction on FF. I'll say, when I was writing it I had no clue what I was doing. I was just pumping chapters out like a madman. My grammar was shit, there are plot holes everywhere you look, and I couldn't get my dialogue straight if I wanted to. My League playing was absolutely horrid (still is). But you guys really liked it, and you told me so, and so I kept going.

Needless to say, as seen by this story itself, I've got some issues. I mean, we all do, and I'm not trying to be a special snowflake here, but my problems weigh on me more than they probably should. I first started writing Manifesto as something of a journal for my thoughts. It was a way for me to get out all the stress and depression and it has done a fantastic job. I'm happy to hear that there are others who felt the same way I do and I was even happier to hear that this story helped some of them in even a little way. The story has become harder to write recently. This is partially because I've run out of things to complain about, and also because it's done its job of helping me get out that anxiety and depression. I doubt it would do so well if not for you guys. Anyway, point is, I've got a lot of problems, primarily with self-esteem. If something goes wrong, I'm quick to assume its my fault. That being said for every 1,000 positive reviews I get, 1 negative review will cripple me.

So, when I was writing A Boy and His Fox, and I got my first negative review, I was torn up inside. I stopped updating for a day or two. I became pretty upset. I wasn't sure how to respond, so I finally told the person flatly that I was sorry he didn't enjoy it, that I was grateful he took the time to not only read it but tell me his opinion, and that if he did have questions I would be happy to answer them, assuming that he was able to be polite and courteous when he asked them. Then something really amazing happened to me, I got a response, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

I thought I'd get some strongly worded message, telling me how much of a little whiny bitch I was, how my grammar was shit, how my characters were unoriginal, and how he had fucked my mother in at least fifteen different positions, but I actually got an apology. It stunned me more than the negative review did. Basically, he told me that while he did have some problems with the story, he had been enjoying it and that he was having a pretty rough week and that's why he was so rude in his review. I immediately replied back, I told him all was forgiven, and we had a good conversation about the problems with the story and I explained myself and we both walked away satisfied.

That was the real beginning for me. That's when I really knew that I was going to keep writing fanfiction. If I became popular, then fine, if not, that was okay too. I wanted more than anything, to help the people like this guy. I ask for reviews so much, not only as a reaffirmation to my own self-esteem, but also because I know some people like to talk. Even if its not directly about their problems, even if it's just complaining about a story they read on the internet, it helps to know someone's listening, and that's what I really wanted my readers to feel from me. I listen to them, even if it doesn't seem like I do sometimes.

So at this point, I'm maybe a little more than a quarter through ABAHF. I reach chapter ten and I write the first lemon for my fanfiction ever. I nearly had a heart attack waiting for reviews. I was chatting on Skype with one of my good friends, and a long time reader named Winkleson, and I was blathering on about how everyone was going to hate it, my content would be flagged, I'd be kicked off of FF forever, and that'd be the end of it. Finally, I couldn't handle it and I was about to pull it to rewrite the chapter, but he stopped me. His exact words were along the lines of "Relax. If people like it, they like it. If they don't, they don't. You're worrying about nothing. That said, DON'T YOU DARE TAKE DOWN THAT CHAPTER!"

If not for him, I don't think you guys would ever have gotten any lemons out of me. My how much times have changed, am I right? So I kept writing and writing and writing. I wanted to get better and better and eventually I got to a point where the thing I didn't want to happen, happened and I developed something of an ego.

One of the lowest points of my writing career was an argument I had with a reader on Twitter. She wasn't a fan of Smoothest of Criminals, and she told me that it wasn't very good because she felt it was just a repeat of A Boy and His Fox. So I mocked her a bit, threw out some witty insults (nothing too crude mind you) but I lost that reader, I'm certain. I feel incredibly guilty about it to this day, too.

I made it a point not to go back to that spot. So I looked myself in the mirror, gave myself a stern lecture reminding me that I wasn't popular because of me, I was popular because of you guys. If I didn't keep in my heart that it was you who mattered more than myself, I'd lose you, and believe me when I say that losing you guys would be like losing family for me. I mean that, too.

So I finished A Boy and His Fox, I began branching out writing the dozens of other stories, only finishing like three of them (sorry about that) and leaving a bunch more open without endings. I swore I'd finish all of them...I've no idea if that's true or not, to be honest, and I can't even tell you which ones I will finish, just because I work so sporadically, that I don't really know what to do with myself sometimes.

Things went pretty smoothly for a while, until my job at the bank resulted in a full blown panic attack that sent me spiraling out of control. I stopped writing for almost four months, scared the crap out of a lot of people, and regressed into my shell to the point where I didn't think I was ever going back out into civilization again.

But, as always, you guys got me through that. The concerned messages from readers asking me if I was okay was enough to remind me that I wasn't alone. Even if I was scared and freaking out, there were people who cared enough about me to check on me, and that meant a lot to me.

And so, here we are today. For those of you who are single, I know it doesn't mean much, but know that you guys are always my Valentines. Even if you guys feel alone, at least know that I do care about you and I think about you guys all the time, and I mean that.

Anyway, that's all I really wanted to say. Thank you guys for everything. I really appreciate all of the support. I hate that I'm leaving you guys empty handed with this update, so I want to go ahead and tell you guys the story of how I met my girlfriend, just as a little something something, so you don't feel like you've wasted your time reading this.

So I was in college. When I graduated High School, I'd moved in with my biological Dad in an attempt to escape the confines of the empty city of Montgomery, Texas. One small hitch: when I got there, none of my old friends remembered me. So after a year, I returned to the tiny ass town to go to college there while living with my mother.

By this time, I'd begun playing Dungeons and Dragons, and I really loved it! But the problem was on I only had two other friends who played it with me, so we kind of existed in a very small boring group. Which left me with only one option: socialize and find new members.

Cue Ross. Now, Ross and I met in a math course, and after that first few weeks when we'd first met...well we pretty much started hating each other at that point. He annoyed me. I annoyed him. It was a mutual dislike. But before that point, I went to his house to help him make his character so he could join our group. He invited another person, Joey. Now, you guys may have heard me talk about him a few times. Joey's a sweet guy, but he's a frustrating roommate. Anyway, I was grateful for the second member.

So we're minding our business, doing our nerd thing, when this really pretty girl shows up at Ross' house unannounced, looking for Joey. I saw her, and I smiled. She smiled back and went to Joey to return Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to him. Joey, being the inclusive person he is, introduced everyone there, and asked her to play with us.

I quickly agreed, obviously. So she did, and I quickly volunteered to be the one to help her make her character. So we had a good time creating her Cleric. We just kind of did our thing, I found out she went to the same college, and that her name was Remy, and what not. The entire time I was certain she thought I was just some crazy nerd, but to me I was like "Man, this girl and I could end up being a thing."

So I did one of the most crafty and smoothest pick up lines I've ever done ever in my entire history of dating. "H-hey, Remy. So, can I get your phone number or email or something? Just so I can contact you and let you know when we're going to play a game." Boom. Done. I scored her digits gentlemen, and I swear to you that my intentions were most certainly not contacting her for playing a game.

So I get home, I send her a text message like "Hey, just wanted to say it was nice to meet you. :)"

"It was nice to meet you too :)"

Let me tell you guys, that's when the game was on. It was full on Donkey Kong up in there. Now, as socially awkward as I am in person, as you may guess, I've got a bit of suave when it comes to the written word. I knew this even then, and so I subtly started maneuvering my way through her woman-brain. Tricky place, trust me. About a month later, we're texting all the time, hanging out, having lunch and such. I finally get the courage and I say "Hey, can we go out to see a movie or something sometime? Like a date?"

She responds back, "I mean, we barely know each other".

This is a lesson for all of you guys. Don't give up hope. Some guys would have been like "Okay, cool," but not your boy Kiba. I was all over that. I had some tricks up my sleeve, and I used all my cunning to trick her into going on a date with me.

"But isn't that why people date? To get to know each other?"

"Good point. Sure, we can go on a date. The renaissance festival is this weekend."

"Sounds good! I'll pick you up. It'll be fun :)"

Swish. Two points, fam. Well, sort of. So, there was a bit of a technical foul on that first date, and specifically it was that I ended up forgetting her name half way through it. Now, in my defense there were two aspects as to why I forgot it. Firstly: Remy is an odd name, right? Not many girls are named Remy, and even fewer spell it with a 'Y'. Secondly: the reason I forgot it. So we're walking around and this girl shows up all of a sudden, running up and hugging me. It's my ex.

Now, we did not part on good terms, mind you. She was not happy with me when we broke up, and it wasn't really something I was expecting. The fact she was acting so happy to see me really threw me off guard, so I started introducing her to my new D&D group (as she was the one who got me into it) and when I reached Remy, my mind just blanked.

It just wasn't there. Gone, fam. My mind could not recall her name to save my damned life. I was certain I was a dead man. I'd fucked up. I had to have a friend remind me of her name. So we finished catching up, and she left, and I was freaking the fuck out.

Remy pulled me aside for a moment, and I was ready for her to really lay into me, but instead she was upset. She asked me if she'd done something to upset me, and that she was sorry our date wasn't going so well. Holy shit, I damn near passed out. This girl, I knew then, was perfect! She was just as self-conscious as I was!

I quickly explained the situation to her. I told her that I was having a great time and that I really liked her, and that I wanted to go on more dates, and most importantly, I apologized like hell. To this day, she never lets go of the fact that I forgot her name on our first date.

Now, a few more dates go by, and I pop the question. But subtlely. "So...are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now or…?"

"Do you want to be boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Good, me too."

So we were boyfriend and girlfriend for a while We saw movies, had dinner, that sort of thing. Typically boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. Now, it's important to know that Ahri is very similar to Remy. Namely, her ex-boyfriend is a total bag of dicks. This guy contacts me, trying to convince me she's cheating on me with him. He shows me some text messages that he screenshots and shit, but I'm skeptical.

So I bring it up to her. I keep an open mind, tell her there's no judgment or anything. If she did, that's fine, we could discuss it, but I wanted the truth. So she showed me the text messages on her phone. He'd told her he'd kill her and himself if she stopped talking to him. Now Remy is a sweetheart. Seriously, she's the nicest person I know, and even for someone she absolutely hates, she'd do anything.

I quickly told her not to worry about it and that I would handle the situation. I told him plainly that she and I were together now. She didn't have feelings for him, she had feelings for me. If she cheated or not, I didn't care. It was over now, and that she and I loved each other and that he'd have to deal with that. What's more, that he was no longer to talk to her again. He was to leave her alone, period.

That worked. He stopped talking to her for a long time. She loved me even more after that. I loved her, because she cared enough to not only tell me the truth, but she was worried that _I_ was going to be hurt by this guy, and he had threatened her life, not mine.

Well, that wasn't the end of it guys. He messaged her a few months later, and he was basically telling her a bunch of crap about how he was suicidal and it was all her fault. So I asked for her phone. I told him who I was and that if he texted her again I'd call the police.

He gave me some edge lord "I hacked this phone" bull shit.

So I told him that he could take that risk if he wants, but I'd still do it. What's more I told him if he ever tried to visit her in person, he'd have an angry two hundred and forty pound man who's been raised by an ex-cop/soldier as well as a man with five skeet shooting tournament wins under his belt and I would have no problem putting a bullet in him the moment he stepped foot in her house.

He's never spoken to her again.

Then, that was it. After that point we've been inseparable. Come this October, it'll have been seven years since we first started dating, if you can believe that. We've hit some bumps, mostly just our social awkwardness getting in the way, but I love her to death and I wouldn't give her up for anything.

Anyway, thanks guys for your support. Sorry for the delay. Contact me on Skype if you need me.


	19. Chapter 17

Manifesto Ch. 17

Just as I began to enter the portal to my next destination, I froze. Time stopped completely. There was no forward, no backward. Just darkness. Had it happened? Had the world ended? I'd done everything he asked, so why…

An eternity went by. Or at least, it felt like one. An entire year, I'd been stuck in the place, wondering why my existence wasn't null. When I'd suddenly started moving again, I popped back out, finding myself standing before him.

"Welcome back," he greeted. "It's good to see you again, old friend."

I crossed my arms over my chest, staring him down. "What the hell was that? Why did you stop me?"

"I didn't 'stop' you per se, so much as I 'put you hiatus'. You're lucky. A few stories are nearly guaranteed to be on permanent hiatus."

I groaned. "Look, I understand this whole 'writing for self-therapy' thing, but could you at least give me something to pass the time? I'm glad you were happy for a while, but I was stuck in a boring ass tube."

"Happy isn't how I'd describe it," he huffed.

"Do tell," I retorted sarcastically.

"Too easy," he grumbled to himself. A book manifested in his hand, opened, and he began jotting something down in it. I watched him, eyebrow raised in confusion. "Look, a lot of things have happened since you've been in stasis. I'll make it quick. I got a new job. A great job. I broke up with Remy. Dated someone new. Broke up with them to go back to Remy. Lost my job. In that order."

I blinked before shaking my head. "Look, I know this doesn't really fit into any plot, but you clearly want to talk about it. So talk."

"Like I said, it's too easy to do that. Coming out and saying it just to say it...it doesn't fit into the story. It has to fit."

I rubbed my temples. "If you're not going to tell me, why bring me here at all?"

"Because...I thought you deserved an explanation. You and _them_."

"Them?"

"The readers."

"Ah. So then, where do I go next?"

"Somewhere that doesn't have much impact on the stories, believe it or not. It isn't a pivotal role in the universe for once. It's obvious you're not willing to make any big changes to anything. Whether that's because you agree with whatever has already happened or because you can't think of a reason to change it...well that's up for interpretation isn't it?"

"So, I'm…?"

"Being sent to Nidalee. Post Grinding of the Gears. Mid A Boy and His Fox."

"You really should come up with years," I sighed. "It'd be a much more relative time-travel system that way." Without responding, he hurled me back through the portal, and again, I awoke on my back, staring up at Kumungu's canopy.

Almost immediately, I could hear the sound of rustling in the underbrush that signaled Nidalee was close by. I looked around, trying to pinpoint where she was coming from, until I backed over a trap that snapped shut on my ankle.

I hissed, trying to rip free from it, but before I could, the Amazonian herself leapt out of the bushes. "I've got you...now?" Her eyes scanned me up and down in confusion. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Nid, it's me!" I tried, though I knew it was most likely futile.

"Josh?" she asked in awe. "Hold on, I'll let you out." Grabbing the sides of the bushwacker, she pulled it open just enough for me to pull out my leg. "Where have you been?! I've been worried sick about you! I mean, you just...vanished. And then...no one could remember you...but I remembered and I wondered if I was going crazy."

I hugged her tightly. "Thank God, you can hear me. And you can remember me, too? That's a first."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, not struggling against my embrace, but not exactly able to return it with my new wide form that I appeared as.

"So far, the only person who's been able to communicate with me at all has been Ahri. But she hasn't recognized my voice. Admittedly, she hasn't met me since I spoke to her earlier, because I went back even earlier, so maybe she can hear me because of her role, but can't remember me because we hadn't met yet and…"

The cat-woman pried free from me. "Will you speak plainly? You're not making any sense."

"I've been time travelling," I told her.

"Time travelling?" she scoffed. "Really? That's your story?"

"Technically, yes. I've been repairing Joshua's stories. Making minor adjustments here or there in order to preserve them, and force him to have to give them their appropriate endings."

"Aren't you Joshua? Or do you mean the umm...well...the writer of our world?"

"Oh, right. I don't really have a name," I explained. "So, I go by Bard. Well, to anyone who knows me at least."

"Okay, so why do I remember you, but everyone else has forgotten? Caitlyn doesn't recall you. Nor does anyone else we've come into contact with."

I clapped my hands in understanding. "Because you don't have an effect on the timeline."

"That sounds horrible."

I waved it off. "No, I mean. We met, but you don't have a story. You're the only one who doesn't. That's why you're the only who remembers. If the others knew, it would affect their actions and change the story. That or maybe he just trusts you."

"Okay. So then, why are you here? If you're repairing stories, then how do I fit in to your equation? Why send you here if you're on some major important decision?"

"That is an excellent question," a voice said behind her, causing her to whirl about. Standing on the other side of Nidalee was _him_.

"Another one?" she asked in confusion.

"Josh, Nid. Nid, Josh."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he greeted her politely.

"Josh?" she gasped. " As in…"

"Afraid so," he interjected. "I wanted to clear some things up for you, as well as lay down some ground rules. Firstly, the reason you can see and remember him while the others can't is, partially as he explained, because you're not influential on any of the timelines. Well, any except for one."

"Kiba's story?" she asked, almost hopefully.

"Correct. It's because you told him about Caitlyn. You directly influenced a story's events, despite not supposed to have been there. As far as I'm concerned, that makes you another extension of Bard."

Nidalee frowned, looking at me then back to him. "So then...I don't talk to anyone ever again? I don't get to see Kiba anymore?"

"I'm afraid not," I told her. "You remain here, in the jungle, living your life as you normally would. However, you are the only one who can remember the events of what happened before the shift."

"The shift?" she asked. "What shift?"

He nodded in my direction. "The shift of events that he's set out. A Boy and his Fox is in Redux. Grinding of the Gears has already changed. Basically, the canon that was set forth is now being replaced, piece by piece. Bard is rebuilding the universe. Setting the wrongs I made right."

His eyes closed as he took a deep breath. There was a heaviness there. It was palpable, like being in a room full of steam. I didn't know how I knew, just that I could feel it there, in my lungs and on my skin.

"Your job," I asked, interrupting Nidalee. "Why did you lose it?"

"I was terminated," he answered.

"Seriously?" I growled. "All that time and effort. You had the chance to get back on your feet and you fucked it up? What the hell did you do?"

"Do you think I don't realize how important it was?!" he snapped loudly. "Of course it was important. I wouldn't have stayed so long working for that monster as I did, otherwise."

"Monster?"

"It was a new experience," he murmured. "I'd never met anyone like this before. I'm relatively sure she genuinely hated me, though I don't know why. Her name was [Redacted], my boss."

"The one who fired you?"

"...I was fired for incompetence," he finally explained. "Her exact words were 'you're incompetent, and you'll never be competent enough.' I loved that job. My coworkers were wonderful friends. They all tried to help me, but [Redacted] was truly out to get me. I told her about my autism when she first hired me. But she never understood! She couldn't grasp why I had trouble communicating."

"That's not unusual," I noted. "Lots of people struggle with that."

"She didn't want to grasp it," he seethed. "This wasn't general ignorance, this was intentional and malicious disdain for me. I've never felt so hated by someone in my life." His eyes started to water up. "She threatened my writing while I was working there. You asked why you'd stopped for so long. That's the reason. When she found out about Warren High 2, she said my writing was making me fail at my job. I signed a contract when I was employed, saying anything I worked on while working at Reynolds pertaining to my job was the property of the company. Standard stuff. If it was a computer program or something like that, it wouldn't do to have R&D selling company secrets to competitors. Even though my book _didn't_ pertain to my job, she said she'd tell the heads of the company about it unless I either quit my job or quit writing all together. I'd be able to argue it in court, but I wouldn't be able to afford a lawyer or anything. So I worked on my original projects in secret from then on."

"That sounds...illegal."

"Unethical, yes. Illegal, no. She was legally in her right to report me to the heads if she so chose. She basically gave me a nudge in the direction she wanted me to take. And by nudge, I mean she put a metaphorical gun to my head and shoved me into a trunk in the direction she wanted me to take."

"Okay...what about the incompetence?" Nidalee asked. "She had to have a reason for saying that."

"Her reason?" Josh scoffed. "Her reason was that I was different. My job was data entry. All I did was update and store customer information in the computer system. But the system changes all the time. The instructions for the old system don't work for the new system. But, the mistakes I made while doing my job weren't the same mistakes that she'd seen others make before. She couldn't understand why others hadn't run into them and I did."

"You're rambling," I informed him. "I know you're venting, and that's fine. But you should cut to the chase."

"She fired me because I made different mistakes than what she expected. Still reasonable mistakes, but because they were different, she took issue. The company didn't have an HR department, because they're privatized, so they don't have to. She works directly under the VP for the whole company, who is too busy with his duties to worry about some full-time new employee's problems. So, at first, she tried to make me miserable enough to quit. When she realized I had no intention of quitting, she fired me. Simple as that."

"Wow," Nidalee murmured. "I...don't really understand all of that, but I'm sorry. How does that apply to me and Bard though?"

"He's an extension of me," he said. "You're an extension of him. When I change, you both change. And now...you've been shown self-doubt."

"But she was wrong," I argued. "You weren't incompetent. You know that. So why…?"

"Because, what if _I'm_ wrong," he snapped. "What if I _am_ incompetent, and I just can't see it. Honestly, I feel incompetent a lot. This Asperger's and autism...I feel absolutely useless. I can't talk to people like others in the service industry. I don't have a Bachelor's degree, and everyone requires years of experience for jobs that are meant to be entry-level. So I'm stuck. I'm on unemployment until I can find another job. That means no money. No personal income. Which also means…"

"Your mom. You have to rely on her again." I slammed my fist into a tree. "Damn it. I was so close...we were... _YOU_ were close to being independent. Now we have to go crawling back?" Something dawned on me. "Wait. Why not ask your readers for help again? They've pulled through for you in the past, right? You had a few people donate to your patron."

He winced. "I...don't like to ask. It's begging. Not that I'm too ashamed to take help, but most of my readers are younger. They don't all have jobs or the income to help me. And how would they ask their parents if they wanted help? 'Hi Mom/Dad. I've been reading smut on the internet, but the author needs help. Can we send him some money?' Please."

"But your readers _are_ loyal. They'd help you if they could."

"I know. Which is why I won't hound them for cash. The last thing I want is for them to feel like they have to help. My problems aren't theirs. They've got their own they have to deal with."

"Seriously? Where is that attitude coming from?" I demanded. "You like to help others. Why won't you let others help you?"

"I don't even help others all that much," he grumbled. "My family has always drilled in the idea of minding my own business. So I do. You ever see that show 'What Would You Do'? I'm that guy who keeps walking. I'm the one who keeps his head down, and ducks into the crowd. I pretend I didn't see it, even though it kills me inside."

"Why? That doesn't make any sense."

"The same reason why anyone doesn't stand up for someone getting bullied. To prevent from being targeted themselves. Think about it. If you see a man beating his wife, and you step in. Do you think he'll just leave? He'll start beating you. Except, you're not his wife. You're some stranger he's never met. Violent people are more violent towards strangers. For all you know, that man has a knife and would slice your throat."

Nidalee gave a low growl. "So you back out from cowardice?! What's the matter with you? How could you just watch while…?"

Storms erupted in his eyes as he wheeled on her. "I am not like you!" he shouted. "I don't have magic powers of the wild. I can't just stab people with spears and expect to get away with it! I'm a pacifist. Just because I can fight, doesn't mean I like to. Yes, it sucks watching someone get hurt while I could stop it. But it sucks more being the one who's getting hurt."

"So you'd do nothing," she huffed. "I'm sure that's much better."

"I never said that."

"Then what? What would you do?"

"Report it to the authorities, obviously. I call the emergency line if it's something that seems really bad, or I call the non-emergency number if it's something concerning, but minor. I'm southern, but I'm not the kind of get-in-your-face southern that most others are."

"Are you just about finished?" I asked him. "This is all very helpful to you for venting, I'm sure, but I'm kind of trying to save your fanfiction universe here. Remember?"

"Right. Sorry," he surrendered. Then in a blink, he was gone.

"Sorry about that Nidalee," I sighed, turning to look back at her, only to find the world was frozen.

"It's you!" a voice cried gleefully just before Lamb slammed hard into my side in a flying hug. Turning back towards her, I smiled, gently stroking her head. She gave a happy purr before showing me a big bound book. "Look at this!" she exclaimed. "I found this book on a train with a friend. It details the future."

Realization began to dawn on me. Manifesto! She had Manifesto on her! Reaching to my side, I pulled out my own copy of the book and opened it.

"Oh...you have it, too. Well, have you read the end of it? It's so amazing! It says I...I..." Her words trailed off as she continued flipping through her pages, only to find them completely blank. "They're gone. The words are gone. But...no. I was supposed to be…" Shutting her eyes tightly, she struggled to find the words she wanted. "I...I can't remember. Did you do this?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted, though I knew she couldn't hear me. Instead, I just shrugged. I'd been filling in Manifesto as I went, noting the changes I was making. But if hers was starting to come undone. That meant…"They're the pages that I can still change," I gasped. "It hasn't been written yet, because _I_ write Manifesto."

Lamb frowned before shutting the book and clutching it to her chest. "Sorry. I guess I got excited over nothing," she murmured dejectedly. I shook my head, flipping through the book and tapping to one of the passages with her in it.

Reading it, a smile came to her face, still hidden behind her mask.

"Yes, I suppose being in a story is something exciting on its own, isn't it?"

"Lamb? Lamb?!" Wolf cried out, trying to find where his sister had run off to. As he lumbered out from the underbrush, he saw me and stopped. "Oh. It's the balloon."

"Rude," I griped. "I'm not really that fat. It's just this stupid glamour. It's not my fault."

"He is rather squishy, isn't he?" Lamb giggled, poking one of her white digits into my stomach, before I swatted her hand away. "Oh. Sorry. I forgot. Brother taught me that people don't like to be touched without permission. Can I poke you?"

I tilted my head in disbelief. _You already poked me. What difference does it make asking for permission at this point?_ I shook my head no, causing her ears to droop. Giving a sigh, I beckoned her closer.

With glee, she poked me again. Who was I to disappoint her? "You know, you can't just keep running off, Lamb," Wolf lectured. "We only go where we're needed. And unless that woman is suffering the calmest heart attack in all of history, we are not needed here."

As if to confirm his statement, I stepped between them and Nidalee protectively. "He was just joking," Lamb tried to assure me, but I still wouldn't budge. I had the sinking suspicion that Wolf's sense of humor wasn't one that was compatible with me.

"Come on, sweet Lamb. We are needed elsewhere," he growled, his piercing eyes never leaving me.

"Oh, but…" She began to protest, before sighing. "Yes. Of course, dear brother. Apologies, spirit. But we must go. Our work continues eternally. I do enjoy our chats though, as one sided as they may be."

With that, she bowed politely before the two vanished, leaving me alone with the frozen Nidalee. I could feel the chimes calling me as well. It seems we both had work to do. With a flash, I vanished through the mystic tunnel, only to end up in a strange room. It was small, made entirely of stone, with only one window.

I tried to place myself, but I couldn't seem to recall it. Until, the door swung open and an exhausted looking Ahri was hurled to the floor. "Stay in there until I require you again," Magnus growled before slamming the wooden door shut.

An audible click signaled the key being turned in the lock. The nine-tailed fox remained there on her hands and knees, coughing and retching. Was she choking? Rushing to the window, she bent over the edge and vomited, ejecting a large stream of milky white. Oh Gods. This was…

Once she'd finished throwing up, she turned away from the window and slowly sank to the ground. She pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in them and beginning to make quiet sobs.

Moving to her side, I placed my hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. When she looked up and saw me, her eyes lit up. She threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. "Bard! Thank Gods, you're here. Please, you have to help me. Magnus, that guy you told me was bad news, you were right! He kidnapped me in exchange for this little girl named Annie and he…"

"Whoa. Relax, Ahri. I know. Just calm down. Here." Summoning her cloak, I wrapped it around her shoulders. "Deep breaths. Has he given you the orb yet?"

"Orb?" she asked in confusion. "What orb?"

Shit. "Nothing," I sighed. "Just...check your food carefully, okay?"

"My food?" she repeated. "No, that's not...look, you're here now. You can get me out of here, right? I've seen you be able to go through walls and stuff before. Can't you just unlock the door? I'd be able to escape and find Kal. Then together we could…" The expression on my face betrayed my answer. "You won't do it," she murmured. "Bard, please. I need you to do it. You've helped me all those other times. Why won't you help me, now? Those monsters are using me like a damned blow up doll! Please, you have to get me out of here!"

"I'm...sorry. I can't do that." It was true. Rescuing her would end the story too quickly. Kal wouldn't search for the rings to break her bond with Magnus, if she was safe. Katarina would never join their team, meaning that she'd be trapped with Magnus still. Without Ahri to be jealous of, she'd never switch sides. Unfortunately, that meant the unthinkable. Ahri would have to suffer for a little while, so that Katarina would be there to help Kal.

Her tails splayed around her as she seethed with rage. "I hate you!" she hissed. "I can't believe you! You're the one who encouraged me to trust Kal! You said you were my friend and now…" Her eyes watered. "Now, I'm stuck here. You're letting them rape me and you won't even lift a finger to help me."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, though I knew it didn't mean anything. "Believe me, if I was able to help, I would. But I can't. I can't even explain why to you."

"Food, slut," Magnus barked, opening the flap at the bottom of the door and sliding in the tray.

Ahri's stomach growled as she stared at it. Without addressing me, she crawled to the tray and pulled it towards her. "You said to check my food carefully, right?" she asked me. "If that's the case, then Magnus must have put poison in it. If I'm sick though, then he won't be able to use me anymore."

"No, Ahri! Wait, it isn't poison!"

"Shut up!" she roared at me. "If you're not going to help me then mind your own damn business." With that, she shoveled all of the food she could into her mouth, swallowing it and barely even chewing.

Chugging the drink, she set it down on the tray and violently kicked it back out of the room. Without a word, she sat on her bed and pulled her knees to her again. "Ahri, he wasn't trying to poison you," I told her, a look of sadness on my face. "He slipped you an orb. He's going to control you and use you to fight Kal. He knows Kal won't hurt you, so he plans on making you kill him."

"No," she gasped. "I mean...he can't! In order to summon me, he has to be bound…" When she saw my melancholic expression, she began to cry again. "Oh Gods, what have I done? I'm going to kill Kal. He's going to die and it's all my fault."

A bird fluttered to her window to investigate her sobs. As it gave an inquisitive chirp, she looked at it with tear-stained eyes. Seeing that the sounds weren't any sort of indication of food, it took off, leaving her alone in the cell again.

"Wait...that's it," she said softly. Standing from the bed, she walked to the window, leaning over the edge to look the long way down into the moat, where the massive maw of Baron Nashor awaited any attempts she made to escape. A weak chuckle escaped her lips. "That idiot. Maybe you helped me a bit after all, Bard. He can't use me to hurt Kal if I'm gone, right?"

She climbed onto the windowsill, standing as the wind blew through her clothes and made her braid whip about. Oh no! "Ahri, you can't!" I shouted, grabbing her just as she leaned forward to jump.

With all my strength, I hurled her back into the room. She landed on the bed looking at me with a burning hatred. "Fuck you! You won't even let me die? Do you want to torture me? Is that it? You made me fall in love so I can _really_ have my heart broken. Well jokes on you, Bard. I know how you work, see? Soon, you're going to disappear. And when you do, I'm going to kill myself anyway. Even if you decide to stay, it won't matter. They're going to drag me out there to use me again, and when they do, I'm going to find a way to end it. Maybe I'll bite off Warwick's dick. That son of a bitch will be pissed enough to tear me apart. I could take the glass they give me to drink, shatter it on the ground and slit my throat."

Gods, she was right. There was no way I could stop her. But if she died...Vul and Vix would never be born. Without them, there would be no Magic of a Young Girl's Heart or Siren's Call.

There wasn't anything I could do though! I knew she was deadly serious about killing herself to prevent from being forced to service these assholes. Understandably, I'd be considering the same thing. I only had one choice. I didn't like it, but if everything happened as it should, it would protect her, in numerous ways.

Keeping my eyes on her in case she tried to run, I summoned Manifesto to me. Opening it to the next blank page, I began to write. Her eyes followed my pen, tracking its movements. "What are you writing?" she demanded. I remained silent and kept on. "Damn it, what are you writing you asshole?!" Her eyes went to the cloak she'd left pooled on the ground. "Wait...you made that by writing it here. You can change reality. You're going to make me…No! Don't!" she rushed towards me. "I want to die! Please, you have to let me…"

 _When the orb she'd eaten activated, the magic clashed with her summoner's. As it did, her mind went blank and she collapsed. Her memories of Kal all but vanished, now locked away by the power of the orb._

Her eyes grew vacant and glazed as she toppled towards me. I caught her in my arms so she wouldn't hit the floor. I carried her back to her bed, and gently lay her upon it. Her eyes moved to me. "B-bard?" she stammered weakly. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

Picking up the cloak I'd made, I draped it over like a blanket. For a moment, she just stared at me, pleading for answers. "It's okay," I told her. "You're going to be just fine." I reached out, brushing her hair from her face.

"P-promise?"

"Yes," I whispered. "Now get some rest. When you wake up, it'll be like you're in a dream."

"I do feel kind of sleepy," she yawned, pulling the cloak further around herself. "This thing is so soft and warm. Thank you, Bard." Leaning up, she placed a grateful kiss on my cheek before closing her eyes and falling fast asleep.

I stood, looking at the window she'd nearly jumped from. Moving to the ledge, I closed it.

* * *

With a blink, I stood before him again. "What now?" I asked in exasperation.

"Good work," he complimented. "I was curious if you were going to help her escape. Though, the fact that you keep sticking to my story line is an interesting choice. Jhin was a much more creative thinker."

"Jhin was a psychopath. _You_ turned him into one. Besides, I didn't exactly have much of a choice, did I? If she'd killed herself, the story would be over. No happy ending. No universe."

"On the contrary, if you'd not interfered, she'd not have gotten the idea. It was only because you revealed to her that her food wasn't poisoned and what Magnus' plan was that she thought to resort to suicide. Though, if you'd helped her to escape, you're right that Kat would not have done so well. With Ahri and Annie recaptured, the League would have ended the investigation. Magnus would complete his plans and take control of all champions. He'd claim all of Valoran as his own, and in his hubris, the world would be destroyed. As you said, no happy ending, no universe. You made a tough choice, and for that I congratulated you."

"You brought me back here, just to congratulate me?" I asked skeptically. "Seems unlike you."

"How so?"

"Typically, you're all 'hmm, interesting choice.' Then -zoom-, off to the next change. Tell the truth. You just want to vent, don't you?"

"Yes," he admitted. "But if you don't want to hear it, I'd understand. I'll send you on to the next change."

"No, it's fine," I told him. "Go ahead. Let it out of your system."

He gave me a grateful smile before starting. "I broke up with Remy, because it felt as though we'd grown apart. She'd even stopped sitting next to me on the couch or hugging me. So I thought, maybe we could take a break. But after a month, nothing changed. I decided I'd try my hand at dating again, and I did. I met a very nice young woman. Oddly enough, she should have been a perfect fit."

"Do tell."

"She had a fox obsession like I do. She shared all of my fetishes, for the most part. She was affectionate, enjoyed physical contact. But despite that all of these things made us click, I could never stop thinking about Remy. I wasn't ready to give her up yet. So, I broke it off with the new girl, with the promise we'd remain friends. We still chat on occasion, though she quickly found a new boyfriend."

"And what about Remy?"

"I begged for her to take me back. At first, she declined. Or rather, she said she wanted to take some time to decide if it was what's best for us. I told her to take all the time she needed. Eventually, we started dating again, under the condition that we take it slow."

"And you agreed, I assume."

"Yes."

"Putting you right back to square one." His silence indicated I'd hit the nail on the head. "Why? You're miserable and lonely like this. You could still be friends with her. You did it while she was taking time to decide if she wanted to date again. Why not look elsewhere for happiness?"

He gave me a weak smile. "Because, I can't forget the good days. Before she became depressed and was so full of self-doubt. I still have a picture of her where we went to a theme park. I'd won her a giant stuffed Domo-kun at one of the boardwalk games. She has the biggest smile in that picture. I want to believe that the woman I love is still in there somewhere. And if it means going back to having the same love I had with her that I had at the beginning, I'd wait a long time before I gave up on it."

"So your mind is made up?'

"More or less."

"Is it more or is it less?"

Less," he admitted. "For now, I'm not actively searching. Whatever this is between Remy and I, it does make me at least a little bit happy. And I don't want to hurt her any more than I already have. So...are you ready for the next change?"

"One quick question first."

"Shoot."

"I know you give people romances. Why won't you give one to Nidalee? She's kind and helpful. There's no reason she shouldn't have someone, you know?"

With only a slight grin to show he knew something I didn't, he hurled me through the magic portal, on the way to who knows where.

To be continued...


End file.
